不能自己

bùnéng zìjǐ

phrase #36,442

Meanings

1 unable to control oneself (common misspelling of 不能自已)
2 cannot help oneself

Characters

oneself (note: should be 已 yǐ 'to stop')

Examples

HSK 4

听到这首歌，她激动得不能自己。

Tīngdào zhè shǒu gē, tā jīdòng de bùnéng zìjǐ.

Hearing this song, she got so emotional she couldn't help herself.

HSK 7-9

看到孩子平安归来，他喜极而泣，不能自己。

Kàndào háizi píng'ān guīlái, tā xǐjí'érqì, bùnéng zìjǐ.

Seeing the child return safely, he wept with joy and could not contain himself.

Tips

mistakes

This is a frequent misspelling of the correct chengyu 不能自已 ('unable to stop oneself'). The correct character is 已 ('to stop, already'), not 己 ('oneself'). Even native speakers confuse the two because the characters look almost identical and 自 + 己 ('self') seems to make sense. In careful writing, always use 不能自已.

history

The correct form 不能自已 originates from Tang poet 卢照邻's 《寄裴舍人书》: 泣下交颐，不能自已 ('tears streaming down both cheeks, unable to stop').

Stroke Order

不 bù

能 néng

自 zì

己 jǐ