纠结不已

糾結不已

jiūjiébùyǐ

phrase

Meanings

1 endlessly torn (between choices)
2 unable to stop agonizing over a decision

Characters

to tangle, twist together

Examples

要不要接受这份工作，他纠结不已。

Yào bù yào jiēshòu zhè fèn gōngzuò, tā jiūjié bùyǐ.

He's been endlessly torn over whether to take the job.

她在两件裙子之间纠结不已。

Tā zài liǎng jiàn qúnzi zhī jiān jiūjié bùyǐ.

She can't stop agonizing between the two dresses.

分手后他对这段感情纠结不已。

Fēnshǒu hòu tā duì zhè duàn gǎnqíng jiūjié bùyǐ.

After the breakup he couldn't stop overthinking the relationship.

Tips

grammar

The [verb/adj] + 不已 pattern means "unable to stop X-ing" and pairs with emotional verbs: 感慨不已 (can't stop sighing with emotion), 激动不已 (endlessly excited), 后悔不已 (endlessly regretful), 兴奋不已 (thrilled beyond stopping). 不已 is always post-verbal and literary in register.

usage

纠结 on its own became one of the defining mood words of the 2010s Chinese internet, capturing the overthinking-everything stance of urban millennials. Adding 不已 intensifies it into "hopelessly conflicted."

Stroke Order

纠 jiū

结 jié

不 bù

已 yǐ