求 之 不 得

qiú zhī bù dédictionary entry

lit. seek but fail to get (idiom) / fig. exactly what one’s been looking for

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-9dbc62906987e6d4. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

求之不得 求之不得 [qiu2 zhi1 bu4 de2] /lit. seek but fail to get (idiom); fig. exactly what one’s been looking for/

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.

求
qiú
to seek / to look for / to request / to demand / to beseech
之
zhī
(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de]) / him / her / it
不
bù
no / not so / (bound form) not / un-
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

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.