迫不得已 — “To have no alternative but to”
迫不得已 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to have no alternative but to”. To be compelled to; to do something against one's will. Literally, “forced to; no alternative”.
Frequency
迫不得已 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 迫pò
- 不bù
- 得dé
- 已yǐ
迫不得已 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 迫不得已
由于突发情况，他迫不得已改变了原定的计划。
Due to an unexpected situation, he had no choice but to alter his original plan.
Origin and Story of 迫不得已
During the Northern Song Dynasty, Song Jiang rescued a mother and daughter, Yan Po and Yan Po Xi. Yan Po then married her daughter to Song Jiang.
However, Song Jiang was not particularly fond of Yan Po Xi, and she soon started an affair with Zhang San, a colleague of Song Jiang.
Yan Po Xi discovered evidence of Song Jiang's association with Chao Gai from Liangshan, and used it to blackmail Song Jiang, demanding 100 taels of gold.
Seeing that Yan Po Xi was determined to extort him, Song Jiang, having no other recourse, killed her and subsequently went to Liangshan.
Idioms Related to 迫不得已
Synonyms of 迫不得已
Questions about 迫不得已
- What does 迫不得已 mean?
- 迫不得已 (pò bù dé yǐ) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to have no alternative but to”.
- How do you pronounce 迫不得已?
- 迫不得已 is pronounced pò bù dé yǐ in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 迫不得已 literally mean?
- Literally, 迫不得已 means “forced to; no alternative”. It is used to mean “to have no alternative but to”.
- Where does 迫不得已 come from?
- 迫不得已 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 迫不得已?
- 被逼得没有办法，不得不这样。