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

HSK 3

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.

HSK 3

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