<p>得 also means 可以 (allowed, permitted), such as 不得吸烟(no smoking)</p>

<ul>
<li>不(bù): not</li>
<li>得(dé): allowed</li>
<li>已(yǐ): to stop</li>
</ul>

<p>so <code>not allowed to stop [something]</code> becomes <code>[something] must happen</code> becomes  <code>to have to</code></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-07T04:19:17.077Z
2015-05-07T06:19:00.010Z
2015-05-07T06:19:00.010Z
Tzu
<p>不得已 can be considered as a word, just like the single English word, so there is no rule to this.
And here the pronunciation of 得 in this expression is "de ".</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-07T06:32:36.260Z
2015-05-07T06:32:36.260Z
Sunny
<p>the usage is classical and shows up at least as far back as mencius: 吾豈好辨哉？吾不得已也。Here the meaning is quite literally "I cannot (不) achieve/obtain (得) an end (已)" to my argumentativeness. In other words, i have no choice but to argue. You might compare it with the much more colloquial 不得不.</p>

<p>By the way be careful about the whole multi-character words thing. Some (not I) would insist that they are mere syllables, the characters accidental byproducts of the spoken language. Better comparison would be with a language composed entirely of words like "counterproductive".</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-07T23:30:37.113Z
2015-05-07T23:30:37.113Z
Master Sparkles
<p>I am under the impression that Chinese multi-character words form their meaning from that of the characters that form these words. (Let me know if I am mistaken!)</p>

<p>I know that 不得已 means "to have to".
But consider each character, as described on <a href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E4%B8%8D%E5%BE%97%E5%B7%B2" rel="nofollow">wiki</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <ul>
  <li>不, "not" </li>
  <li>得, "particle to connect verb with modifying clause/to have to"</li>
  <li>已, "already/then/to stop"</li>
  </ul>
</blockquote>

<p>How do these three characters form the meaning of the whole expression? Or is there no rule to this?</p>

<p>Also, my understanding is that 得 (dė) is a particle, yet 得 (děi) means "to have to". That said, would the pronunciation of 得 in this expression be <code>děi</code>?</p>

<p>Thanks in advance!</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-07T12:13:41.023Z
as far as pronuciation is concerned， this of course is easily answered by any number of dictionaries，e。g。现代汉语词典，iciba （which often does not supply pronunciation， does in this case  [bù dé yǐ]，（cf。answer＃２），小马词典，汉语水平考试词典，etc。
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-26T18:14:50.537Z
不得已 involves knowledge of Literary Chinese, you can search about this.
shonminh
<meaning><characters><etymology><pronunciation><expressions>
How is the meaning of 不得已 formed?
# How is the meaning of 不得已 formed?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-05-07)

I am under the impression that Chinese multi-character words form their meaning from that of the characters that form these words. (Let me know if I am mistaken!)

I know that 不得已 means "to have to".
But consider each character, as described on [wiki](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E4%B8%8D%E5%BE%97%E5%B7%B2):

> * 不, "not"
> * 得, "particle to connect verb with modifying clause/to have to"
> * 已, "already/then/to stop"

How do these three characters form the meaning of the whole expression? Or is there no rule to this?

Also, my understanding is that 得 (dė) is a particle, yet 得 (děi) means "to have to". That said, would the pronunciation of 得 in this expression be `děi`?

Thanks in advance!

**Tags:** meaning, characters, etymology, pronunciation, expressions

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: as far as pronuciation is concerned， this of course is easily answered by any number of dictionaries，e。g。现代汉语词典，iciba （which often does not supply pronunciation， does in this case  [bù dé yǐ]，（cf。answer＃２），小马词典，汉语水平考试词典，etc。  
> **username_2**: 不得已 involves knowledge of Literary Chinese, you can search about this.  

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## 3 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2015-05-07. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

the usage is classical and shows up at least as far back as mencius: 吾豈好辨哉？吾不得已也。Here the meaning is quite literally "I cannot (不) achieve/obtain (得) an end (已)" to my argumentativeness. In other words, i have no choice but to argue. You might compare it with the much more colloquial 不得不.

By the way be careful about the whole multi-character words thing. Some (not I) would insist that they are mere syllables, the characters accidental byproducts of the spoken language. Better comparison would be with a language composed entirely of words like "counterproductive".


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### Answer by username_3 on 2015-05-07. Score: 1

得 also means 可以 (allowed, permitted), such as 不得吸烟(no smoking)

* 不(bù): not
* 得(dé): allowed
* 已(yǐ): to stop

so `not allowed to stop [something]` becomes `[something] must happen` becomes `to have to`


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### Answer by username_4 on 2015-05-07. Score: 1

不得已 can be considered as a word, just like the single English word, so there is no rule to this.
And here the pronunciation of 得 in this expression is "de ".


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