绷不住

繃不住
bēngbuzhù
verb

Meanings

  1. 1 unable to hold back
  2. 2 can't keep a straight face; can't help laughing

Examples

HSK 5
Tā xiǎng bǎochí yánsù, dàn zuìhòu háishi bēngbuzhù le.
She tried to stay serious, but in the end she couldn't keep it up.
HSK 7-9
Tā de biǎoqíng tài hǎoxiào le, wǒ bēngbuzhù xiào le.
His expression was so funny that I couldn't hold back my laughter.

Tips

usage
绷不住 is common in casual online and spoken speech, usually about failing to hold back laughter. The image is a taut surface snapping: ('to stretch tight') takes the bēng reading here, not the běng of 绷脸 ('to pull a long face'). The opposite is 绷住 ('to manage to keep it together').

Stroke Order

bēng
zhù