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怎么得了

zěn me dé liǎodictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
how can this be? / what's to be done? / what an awful mess!
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-359610b103691a7b. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

怎麼得了 怎么得了 [zen3 me5 de2 liao3] /how can this be?/what's to be done?/what an awful mess!/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 怎麼得了

  • 怎
    zěn

    how

  • 么
    yāo

    youngest / most junior / tiny / one (unambiguous spoken form when spelling out numbers, esp. on telephone or in military) / one or ace on dice or dominoes / variant of 吆[yāo], to shout

    má

    exclamatory final particle

    ma

    interrogative final particle

    me

    suffix, used to form interrogative 什麼|什么[shén me], what?, indefinite 這麼|这么[zhè me] thus, etc

    Yāo

    surname Yao

  • 得
    dé

    to obtain / to get / to gain / to catch (a disease) / proper / suitable / proud / contented / to allow / to permit / ready / finished

    dè

    used in 得瑟[dè se]

    de

    structural particle: used after a verb (or adjective as main verb), linking it to following phrase indicating effect, degree, possibility etc

    děi

    to have to / must / ought to / to need to

  • 了
    le

    (completed action marker) / (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now) / (modal particle intensifying preceding clause)

    liǎo

    to finish / (used with 得[dé] or 不[bù] after a verb to express (im)possibility, as in 忘不了[wàng bu liǎo] "cannot forget") / (literary) (usually followed by a negative such as 無|无[wú] or 不[bù]) completely (not) / entirely (not) / (not) in the least / (bound form) clear in one's mind / to understand clearly

    liào

    See the full entry for source details.

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.