不 bù
- Strokes
- 4
- Radical
- 一 — one
- How it's built
- Ideograph — the meaning is built from its parts
不得已
bùdéyǐ
unavoidable; having no alternative
Characters in this word
得 dé
- Strokes
- 11
- Radical
- 彳 — to step with the left foot
- How it's built
- Ideograph — the meaning is built from its parts
已 yǐ
- Strokes
- 3
- Radical
- 己 — self, oneself
Example phrases
- 裁员是公司在现金流断裂后作出的不得已选择。 Cáiyuán shì gōngsī zài xiànjīnliú duànliè hòu zuòchū de bùdéyǐ xuǎnzé. Layoffs were an unavoidable choice the company made after its cash flow broke down.
- 下雨了，我们不得已取消了野餐。 Xià yǔ le, wǒmen bùdéyǐ qǔxiāo le yěcān. It started to rain, so we had no choice but to cancel the picnic.
- 他是出于不得已才把老房子卖掉的。 Tā shì chūyú bùdéyǐ cái bǎ lǎo fángzi mài diào de. He sold the old house only because he had no other choice.