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情不自禁

qíng bù zì jīn

unable to hold back

Character by character

情qíng
feeling
不bù
not
自zì
self
禁jīn
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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