按捺不住

ànnàbùzhù
idiom #47,701

Meanings

  1. 1 unable to hold back (idiom)
  2. 2 can't suppress (an emotion or impulse)
  3. 3 unable to contain oneself

Examples

Tīngdào hǎo xiāoxi, tā ànnàbùzhù nèixīn de xǐyuè.
On hearing the good news, he couldn't contain his joy.
Háizi men ànnàbùzhù hàoqíxīn, pǎo le guòqù.
The children couldn't hold back their curiosity and ran over.
Tā ànnàbùzhù fènnù, zhōngyú kāikǒu fǎnbó.
Unable to suppress her anger any longer, she finally spoke up.

Tips

grammar
= to press down / hold under (by pressing). 不住 = cannot manage to (do the verb). Object is always an internal state: 喜悦, 愤怒, 好奇心, 激动, 冲动. Takes a direct object, no preposition needed.
memory
Imagine pressing a lid on a pot of boiling feelings — you can keep it down for a while, but at some point 按捺不住 — it pops off. The mental image makes the idiom easy to retrieve.

Stroke Order

àn
zhù