情不自禁
qíng bù zì jīn
unable to hold back
Character by character
情qíng
feeling
feeling
不bù
not
not
自zì
self
self
禁jīn
restrain
restrain
Example
看到这一幕,她情不自禁地流下了眼泪。
Seeing this, she couldn't hold back her tears.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
Like 不由自主 but driven by emotion; 禁 is jīn, 'to bear'.
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