万不得已

萬不得已

wànbùdéyǐ

idiom

Meanings

1 only as a last resort; absolutely necessary
2 to have no alternative but to do something

Characters

ten thousand; absolutely

to stop; to cease

Examples

万不得已，我不会向你借钱。

Wànbùdéyǐ, wǒ bú huì xiàng nǐ jiè qián.

I wouldn't borrow money from you unless it was absolutely unavoidable.

这是万不得已的办法。

Zhè shì wànbùdéyǐ de bànfǎ.

This is a last-resort solution.

万不得已的时候，请打这个电话。

Wànbùdéyǐ de shíhou, qǐng dǎ zhège diànhuà.

Call this number only in an absolute emergency.

Tips

history

From Feng Menglong's Ming-dynasty story collection 《喻世明言》, volume 18: 此去也是万不得已 — a wife parting from her husband explains the trip is unavoidable. Literally 'in 10,000 ways unable to stop' — stop at nothing short of doing it.

grammar

Common patterns: 万不得已 + 的 + noun (last-resort X), 万不得已 + 不 + verb (wouldn't do it unless unavoidable), 到了万不得已的时候 (when things come to that extreme point).

Stroke Order

万 wàn

不 bù

得 dé

已 yǐ