HSK 4 · Emotions

受不了 shòubùliǎo “unbearable” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 受不了 means

  1. unbearable
  2. unable to endure
  3. can’t stand

How to say 受不了

  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale受shòu4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale不bù4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale了liǎo3rd tone, dipping

受不了 in a sentence

  1. 我受不了了。

    Wǒ shòubùliǎo le.

    I can’t take it any more.

    Sentence #10600450 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 他受不了咖啡的苦味。

    Tā shòubùliǎo kāfēi de kǔwèi.

    He can’t stand the bitter taste of coffee.

    Sentence #4760018 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 汤姆受不了像那样的人。

    Tāngmǔ shòubùliǎo xiàng nàyàng de rén.

    Tom can’t stand people like that.

    Sentence #10609045 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

How 受不了 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 受 (shòu) with each of its parts in a different colour
受shòuto receive
  • 爫claw form of 爪 · zhǎo
  • 冖cover · mì
  • 又again · yòu

Memory aidOne hand 爫 passing something to another hand 又: to receive.

The character 不 (bù) drawn as one shape
不bùno; not so

不 is a single shape of 4 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

Memory aidPicture a bar 一 across the top that nothing below can get past: not, no.

The character 了 (liǎo) with each of its parts in a different colour
了liǎoto finish
  • 乛part of the character
  • 亅hook · jué

How to write 受不了

受 8 strokes · 不 4 strokes · 了 2 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

受不了 (shòubùliǎo) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 受不了 (shòubùliǎo). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 受不了

Words with 受

受shòu · to receive接受jiēshòu · to accept受到shòudào · to receive (praise难受nánshòu · to feel unwell受伤shòushāng · to be injured感受gǎnshòu · to feel承受chéngshòu · to bear享受xiǎngshòu · to enjoy遭受zāoshòu · to suffer忍受rěnshòu · to bear

Words with 不

不bù · no不要bùyào · don’t!不客气bú kèqi · you’re welcome对不起duìbuqǐ · sorry不错bùcuò · not bad不好意思bùhǎoyìsi · to feel embarrassed不但búdàn · not only不同bùtóng · different不少bùshǎo · quite a few不见bújiàn · to be missing

Words with 了

了le · aspect particle了解liǎojiě · comprehend除了chúle · besides为了wèile · in order to不得了bùdéliǎo · extremely了不起liǎobuqǐ · amazing大不了dàbuliǎo · at worst一目了然yímùliǎorán · clear at a glance

More words: Emotions & Feelings

麻烦máfan · trouble难受nánshòu · to feel unwell失败shībài · to fail失望shīwàng · disappointed态度tàidu · attitude讨厌tǎoyàn · to dislike同情tóngqíng · to sympathise with无聊wúliáo · bored

FAQs

受不了 (shòubùliǎo) means “unbearable” or “unable to endure”. It is an HSK 4 word.
Say it shòubùliǎo: shòu with a 4th tone, then bù with a 4th tone, then liǎo with a 3rd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 受不了 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type shoubuliao with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 受不了 from the suggestions. Typing shoubuliao into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
受不了 is an HSK 4 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.