不得了 (bùdéliǎo) · extremely
不得了 (bùdéliǎo) means “extremely; terrible; serious”. It is written with 3 characters: 不 (not) + 得 (to get) + 了 (particle for completed action or change). It is an old HSK 5 word (HSK 2.0).
How 不得了 is built
The characters
不 bù · not
What 不 is made of
- 一 — horizontal stroke
Origin hint: A bird flying toward the sky 一 (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
得 dé · to get
What 得 is made of
- 彳chì — to step with the left foot
- 丨 — vertical stroke
- 旦dàn — dawn
- 日rì — sun; day
- 口kǒu — mouth
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 日rì — sun; day
- 寸cùn — inch
Origin hint: A hand 寸 grabbing a shell 旦 (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
了 le · particle for completed action or change
What 了 is made of
- 乛 — bent stroke
- 亅 — hook
Origin hint: A child swaddled in blanklets; compare 子 (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
Example sentences
Questions about 不得了
What does 不得了 mean?
不得了 (bùdéliǎo) means “extremely; terrible; serious”.
How do you pronounce 不得了?
不得了 is pronounced bùdéliǎo.
Which HSK level is 不得了?
不得了 is in Old HSK 5.
Related words
- 不大bùdànot very
- 不对bùduìwrong
- 不客气bùkèqiyou are welcome
- 不用bùyòngno need
- 对不起duìbuqǐsorry
- 是不是shìbushìis it or not
- 不错bùcuònot bad
- 不但bùdànnot only (... but also ...)
- 不够bùgòunot enough
- 不过bùguòbut
It is part of Old HSK 5 · Group 7: a short group with quick checks and spaced repeats.