---
title: "舍不得 (shěbude) in Chinese Grammar: Can’t bear to (part with, spend, leave), With Examples"
description: "舍不得 (shěbude): can’t bear to (part with, spend, leave). 舍不得 + verb/noun: too attached to give it up or spend it. 4 real lines from stories, each word explained."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/shebude"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[Chinese grammar](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar)

# 舍不得 shěbude

Can’t bear to (part with, spend, leave)

舍不得 + verb/noun: too attached to give it up or spend it.

## In stories

梁山伯**舍不得**她，陪她走了一段又一段，一共送了十八里路。

[梁山伯与祝英台 · The Butterfly Lovers](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/butterfly-lovers-legend#library-word-310-313) HSK 4

这么多年，黄姐一张也**舍不得**扔。

[饼干盒 · The biscuit tin full of notes](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/the-biscuit-tin-full-of-notes#library-word-213-216) HSK 4

“那年我刚退休，**舍不得**学校，就留下来看大门。

[一百分 · Full marks](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/full-marks#library-word-225-228) HSK 5

老伴走了以后，她一直**舍不得**关。

[楼道里的灯 · The stairwell light](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/stairwell-light#library-word-676-679) HSK 5

[Read 梁山伯与祝英台](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/butterfly-lovers-legend#library-word-310-313)

## More patterns

- [verb + 得 + complement says how something is done (how well, how much, with what result)](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/v-de-c)
- [verb + 不/得 + result (potential) cannot / can (manage to) …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/v-bu-c)
- [再也 + 不/没 never again; not any more](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/zaiye-bu)
- [谁 + 也/都 + (V不C) no one / nothing: …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/shei-ye-neg-v)
- [verb + 不了/得了 cannot …; can …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/v-bu-liao)
- [一 + measure word (+ noun) + 也/都 + 不/没 not a single …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/yi-cl-ye-bu)

## What does 舍不得 (shěbude) mean in Chinese?

Can’t bear to (part with, spend, leave). 舍不得 + verb/noun: too attached to give it up or spend it.

## How common is 舍不得?

It comes up in 6 readings of the 392 stories and articles in our free Library.

## Does it correct my mistakes?

No. It shows which patterns a text uses and what each one does; it doesn’t mark errors. Paste a sentence you wrote to see whether it uses the pattern you meant.

## More free tools

- [Chinese dictionary](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-dictionary)
- [Measure words](https://mandarinthewild.com/measure-words)
- [How hard is this text?](https://mandarinthewild.com/text-level)
- [Free Chinese stories](https://mandarinthewild.com/library)

Patterns found by our own parser; lines from our free Library.