得不到

débùdào

verb #11,378

Meanings

1 cannot get
2 cannot obtain
3 unable to receive

Characters

to get; to obtain

to arrive; to reach

Examples

得不到的东西总是最好的。

Débùdào de dōngxi zǒngshì zuì hǎo de.

What you can't have always seems the best.

他一直得不到父母的认可。

Tā yīzhí débùdào fùmǔ de rènkě.

He has never been able to get his parents' approval.

Tips

grammar

得不到 is the negative potential complement form of 得到 (to obtain). The pattern is: verb + 不 + complement = cannot achieve the result. 得到 → 得不到 (can't get), 看到 → 看不到 (can't see).

Stroke Order

得 dé

不 bù

到 dào