LEARN + CHINESE / 239 of 300 HSK 7–9
Can't Help Remembering 不由得
Sometimes a reaction arrives before you have time to choose it: a song brings back a memory, a child needs help, or something makes you laugh. Put 不由得 before the action or feeling that happens almost automatically. It means “couldn’t help…” or “found oneself…”
When a Memory Comes Back
每次听到这首歌，我不由得想起小时候的暑假。
Měi cì tīngdào zhè shǒu gē, wǒ bùyóude xiǎngqǐ xiǎoshíhou de shǔjià.
Whenever I hear this song, I can’t help remembering summer holidays when I was a child.
The speaker is not deliberately trying to remember. Hearing the song triggers the memory, and 不由得 makes that involuntary reaction clear.
When You React Without Thinking
看到老人一个人搬行李，她不由得上前帮忙。
Kàndào lǎorén yí ge rén bān xíngli, tā bùyóude shàngqián bāngmáng.
Seeing an older person carrying luggage alone, she couldn’t help going over to help.
大家听完他的故事，不由得安静下来。
Dàjiā tīngwán tā de gùshi, bùyóude ānjìng xiàlái.
After hearing his story, everyone fell quiet without meaning to.
不由得 usually introduces a response rather than a planned decision. For a conscious choice, state the decision directly: 我决定帮忙 (“I decided to help”).
Hint · 힌트
不由得 and 忍不住 are close, but their focus differs: 不由得 presents a reaction as beyond one’s control; 忍不住 often suggests trying, and failing, to hold an action back.
In Real Life
In conversation, people also say 我忍不住笑了 (“I couldn’t stop myself laughing”). 不由得 appears comfortably in both speech and writing, especially with thoughts, feelings, and spontaneous responses.
Vocabulary
| Chinese | English |
|---|---|
bùyóude | cannot help but; involuntarily |
xiǎngqǐ | to recall; think of |
tīngdào | to hear |
kàndào | to see; notice |
xiào | to laugh; smile |
kū | to cry |
dānxīn | to worry |
zháojí | to feel anxious |
gāoxìng | happy; glad |
gǎndòng | moved; touched |
rěnbuzhù | unable to hold back |
tūrán | suddenly |
jiéguǒ | result; as a result |
háizi | child |
bāngzhù | to help |
pǎo | to run |
guòqù | to go over; the past |
fāshēng | to happen |
qǐlái | to begin; rise |
zhídé | to be worth; deserve |
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