DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

不得已而為之

简不得已而为之 · 繁不得已而為之

Mandarin · pinyin bù dé yǐ ér wéi zhī

Characters in this entry

不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
得: dé · obtain, get, gain, acquire
已: yǐ · already; finished; stop
而: ér · and; and then; and yet; but; Kangxi radical 126
為: Look up this written character
之: zhī · marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
为: wèi · do, handle, govern, act; be

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

4–2–3–2–2–1 · bu4 de2 yi3 er2 wei2 zhi1

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

6character links

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

bat1 dak1 ji5 ji4 wai4 zi1

Pleco · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Word reading; meanings not aligned.

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

(idiomatic) to do something against one's will; to have no choice but to do something