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不了

Mandarin · pinyin bù le#

no thanks (used to politely but informally decline)

Mandarin · pinyin bù liǎo#

(as a resultative verb suffix) unable to (do sth)
(pattern: {verb} + 個 ge + ~) without end; incessantly

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Characters in this entry

不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
了: le · to finish; particle of completed action

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

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Mandarin tones

4–5 · bu4 le5

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 6 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bat1 liu5

Cantonese word readings for 不了. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

verb

to be unfinished; to keep going on without end; to be unresolved
(as a complement) to be unable to
(as a complement) to be unable to be finished
to be unclear; to not understand

adv

(Sichuanese) not just; not only

phrase

(Hong Kong Cantonese, slang, neologism) thanks, but no thanks

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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