---
title: "verb + 不了/得了 in Chinese Grammar: Cannot …, With Examples"
description: "verb + 不了/得了: cannot …; can …. Verb + 不了 means unable to do it (or to finish it); 得了 means able to. 4 real lines from stories, each word explained."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/v-bu-liao"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

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

# verb + 不了/得了

Cannot …; can …

Verb + 不了 means unable to do it (or to finish it); 得了 means able to.

## In stories

这个官只有名字，什么事也**管不了**。

[齐天大圣 · Great Sage Equal to Heaven](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/great-sage-equal-to-heaven-journey-to-the-west-easy-chinese-6#library-word-800-803) HSK 3

大家都被吓跑了，谁也**管不了**他了。

[大闹天宫 · Havoc in Heaven](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/havoc-in-heaven-journey-to-the-west-easy-chinese-7#library-word-879-882) HSK 3

要是我们**去不了**西天，我就回来做你的女婿！”

[猪八戒 · Pigsy Joins](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/pigsy-joins-journey-to-the-west-easy-chinese-15#library-word-780-783) HSK 3

第二天，两个人又打了起来，还是谁也**赢不了**谁。

[黑熊精 · The Black Bear Demon](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/the-black-bear-demon-journey-to-the-west-easy-chinese-14#library-word-189-192) HSK 3

[Read 齐天大圣](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/great-sage-equal-to-heaven-journey-to-the-west-easy-chinese-6#library-word-800-803)

## More patterns

- [verb (+ 了) + duration (for how long) for … (how long … lasts)](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/duration)
- [verb + 得 + complement says how something is done (how well, how much, with what result)](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/v-de-c)
- [verb + 了 + verb … briefly; … a little](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/v-le-v)
- [verb + 不/得 + result (potential) cannot / can (manage to) …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/v-bu-c)
- [太 + adjective + 了 so …!](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/tai-le)
- [再也 + 不/没 never again; not any more](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/zaiye-bu)

## What does verb + 不了/得了 mean in Chinese?

Cannot …; can …. Verb + 不了 means unable to do it (or to finish it); 得了 means able to.

## How common is verb + 不了/得了?

It comes up in 21 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.