---
title: "Bukan Meaning: 不堪 (bùkān) Means “cannot bear”"
description: "不堪 (bùkān) means “cannot bear; unable to endure”. Hear its tones, see what 不 and 堪 each mean and a real sentence that uses it."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/bukan"
published: "2026-10-21"
updated: "2026-11-06"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[What does it mean in Chinese?](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning)

# What does 不堪 mean?

猫头鹰māotóuyīngowl

不堪 bùkān

## cannot bear; unable to endure

## It can also mean

- utterly; extremely (after an adjective)
- unbearable; disgraceful

## Its characters

1. 不 bù not
2. 堪 kān to bear

## In a sentence

房间里脏乱不堪。 The room was extremely dirty and messy.

[More about 不堪](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E4%B8%8D%E5%A0%AA)

## More words with 不 or 堪

- [必不可少 bìbùkěshǎo](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/bibukeshao)
- [不安 bù’ān](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/buan)
- [不必 bùbì](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/bubi)
- [不便 bùbiàn](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/bubian)
- [不曾 bùcéng](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/buceng)
- [不成 bùchéng](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/bucheng)
- [不错 bùcuò](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/bucuo)
- [不但 bùdàn](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/budan)
- [不当 bùdàng](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/budang)
- [不得 bùdé](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/bude)

## Keep 不堪 for Review

A free account keeps it, and Review brings it back just before you’d forget it.

## Look up another word

## See any word in its sentence

Get a card like this for every word on any page or YouTube subtitle.

[Add to Chrome](https://mandarinthewild.com/go/chrome?from=%2Fmeaning%2Fbukan) [Read in the Library](https://mandarinthewild.com/library)

[Hear any Chinese read aloud](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-text-to-speech)

[The best free Chinese listening practice](https://mandarinthewild.com/guides/chinese-listening-practice-resources)
