LEARN + CHINESE / 260 of 300 HSK 7–9
The Train Was Packed 得要命
The train is so crowded that nobody can find a seat. Add 得要命 after an adjective or verb to say it’s extreme. A separate everyday frame, verb + 个 + phrase, can show an action carrying on without a break.
火车挤得要命，我们都找不到位子坐。
huǒchē jǐ de yàomìng, wǒmen dōu zhǎo bu dào wèizi zuò.
The train was so crowded that none of us could find a seat.
今天热得不行，大家都想找个有空调的地方。
jīntiān rè de bùxíng, dàjiā dōu xiǎng zhǎo ge yǒu kōngtiáo de dìfang.
It’s unbearably hot today; everyone wants to find somewhere with air-conditioning.
他忙个不停，连午饭都没顾上吃。
tā máng ge bù tíng, lián wǔfàn dōu méi gùshàng chī.
He kept busy without stopping and didn’t even get a chance to eat lunch.
几个孩子笑个不停，把老师也逗笑了。
jǐ ge háizi xiào ge bù tíng, bǎ lǎoshī yě dòuxiào le.
The children couldn’t stop laughing, and they made the teacher laugh too.
Hint · 힌트
得要命 and 得不行 follow the word they intensify: 挤得要命, 热得不行. In 忙个不停 and 笑个不停, 个 introduces a phrase meaning “without stopping.”
Vocabulary
| Chinese | English |
|---|---|
huǒchē | train |
jǐ | crowded; to squeeze |
yàomìng | extremely; unbearably |
zhǎo bu dào | unable to find |
wèizi | seat |
rè | hot |
bùxíng | to an unbearable degree |
kōngtiáo | air-conditioning |
dìfang | place |
máng ge bù tíng | to stay constantly busy |
lián | even; including |
wǔfàn | lunch |
gùshàng | to find the time to attend to |
xiào ge bù tíng | to keep laughing |
háizi | child |
lǎoshī | teacher |
dòuxiào | to make someone laugh |
de | complement marker |
ge | introduces an ongoing state or action |
bù tíng | without stopping |
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