拗不过

拗不過

niùbuguò

verb #75,813

Meanings

1 unable to dissuade (someone)
2 can't change someone's mind
3 unable to resist someone's persistence

Characters

stubborn / to dissuade

Examples

我拗不过她，只好答应了。

Wǒ niùbuguò tā, zhǐhǎo dāyìng le.

I couldn't talk her out of it, so I had to agree.

父母拗不过孩子的请求，给他买了那辆自行车。

Fùmǔ niùbuguò háizi de qǐngqiú, gěi tā mǎi le nà liàng zìxíngchē.

Unable to resist their child's pleading, the parents bought him that bicycle.

Tips

grammar

Resultative complement pattern: 拗 (to stubbornly oppose) + 不过 (cannot win against). The 不过 pattern is highly productive — compare 说不过 'can't out-argue,' 比不过 'can't compare with,' 跑不过 'can't outrun.'

mistakes

拗 has multiple readings — niù here (stubborn/persuade), but ǎo when meaning 'to bend/break' and ào when meaning 'awkward.' For 拗不过 it's always niù.

Stroke Order

拗 ào

不 bù

过 guò