说不出（的）＋形容词
indescribably …; a … beyond words
Structure
主语 说不出（的） 形容词 ／ 一种说不出的 形容词
What it means
“Indescribably …”: 说不出, literally “cannot say”, becomes an intensifier for a feeling or quality so strong or subtle that words fail.
How it is built
Subject + 说不出（的）+ adjective: 他心里说不出的难受 (he felt a pain he couldn’t put into words). Or 一种说不出的 + adjective, as a noun: 一种说不出的温柔.
When to use it
For feelings, tastes and atmospheres (难受, 温柔, 亲切, 激动, 清新), rather than measurable things such as height or price.
Watch out
Don’t confuse it with 说不出口, “too awkward or painful to say aloud”, which is about words, not qualities. As a predicate it goes before the adjective, usually with 的: 空气说不出的清新.
Examples
歌词说的无非是爱慕、思念和失恋的忧愁，可经她一唱，就有了一种说不出的温柔。
The lyrics speak of nothing more than love, longing and the sorrow of a broken heart, yet once she sings them they take on an indescribable tenderness.
回到老家，看到小时候住的老街已经拆光了，他心里说不出的难受。
Back in his home town, he found the old street he grew up on torn down, and felt a pain he could not put into words.
雨后的山里，空气说不出的清新。
In the hills after rain the air is fresher than words can say.
Learn this in Lesson 243 · HSK 9+: 从周璇到邓丽君 (From Zhou Xuan to Teresa Teng)
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.
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