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

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

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