不胜酒力

不勝酒力
búshèngjiǔlì
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 unable to hold one's liquor
  2. 2 gets drunk easily

Examples

Wǒ búshèngjiǔlì, qǐng dàjiā duō bāohan.
I can't hold my liquor, please bear with me.
Tā búshèngjiǔlì, liǎng bēi jiù zuì le.
He can't handle his liquor — two glasses and he was drunk.
Yǐ búshèngjiǔlì wéi yóu wǎnjù.
Politely decline on the grounds of not being able to hold your liquor.

Tips

register
A polite, somewhat formal way to turn down drinks at a Chinese business or family dinner, where outright refusal would be awkward. here is shèng = 'to be able to bear', as in 不胜感激 ('overwhelmed with gratitude').
mistakes
is shèng here, not shēng. Don't confuse 不胜酒力 (can't handle drink) with 不省人事 (passed out cold).

Stroke Order

shèng
jiǔ