吃不了 · 上不了班
can / can’t possibly do it (because of the situation)
Structure
动词 + 得了／不了
What it means
Verb + 不了 (bu liǎo) says something can’t possibly happen because of the situation: you are ill, there is too much, or something is in the way.
How it is built
Verb + 不了: 这么多菜，我们吃不了 (we can’t possibly eat all these dishes). With a verb and its object, it goes in the middle: 上班 → 上不了班, 走路 → 走不了路.
When to use it
The positive 得了 (de liǎo) is used mostly in questions: 你明天来得了吗？ “Can you make it tomorrow?” 不了 is about circumstances making it impossible: 雨太大了，我们去不了公园了.
Watch out
This 了 is liǎo, not le: chī bu liǎo. Keep the object after 不了: ✗ 上班不了 ✓ 上不了班.
Examples
这么多菜，我们吃不了。
We can’t possibly eat all these dishes.
雨太大了，我们去不了公园了。
It’s raining too hard; we can’t go to the park now.
他的腿受伤了，走不了路。
He has hurt his leg and can’t walk.
Learn this in HSK 3 · Lesson 8: 发烧了 (Fever)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
Open the lesson →