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How To Say "Cannot"

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IN THIS LESSON
ID: 7412 Intermediate
Ever found yourself wondering when you should use 不了 bùliǎo,不起 bù qǐ or 不到 bù dào? Specifically, when to use 买不了mǎi bù liǎo,买不到 mǎi bù dào and 买不起 mǎi bù qǐ. Check out this Qing Wen where we show you what these endings mean and how you can use these definitions and apply them to other verbs.
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SIMPLIFIED PINYIN ENGLISH  
买不了因为环境或自己的状况所以不能或不可以
mǎi 买bùliǎo 不了yīnwèi 因为huánjìng 环境huò 或zìjǐ de 自己的zhuàngkuàng 状况suǒyǐ 所以bùnéng 不能huò 或bù 不kěyǐ 可以
unable to buy: because your environment or your own circumstance disallows you to do something, in this case buy something.
我现在买不了新的iPhone...
wǒ 我xiànzài 现在mǎi 买bùliǎo 不了xīn de 新的iPhone iPhonediǎn .diǎn .diǎn .
I can't buy a new iPhone now...
不过我下个月领薪水的时候就可以买了
bùguò 不过wǒ 我xià ge yuè 下个月etc.) 领xīnshuǐ 薪水de shíhou 的时候jiù 就kěyǐ 可以mǎi le 买了
but next month, after I get paid, I'll be able to buy one.
我的钱包不见了买不了午餐
wǒ de 我的qiánbāo 钱包bùjiànle 不见了mǎi 买bùliǎo 不了wǔcān 午餐
I lost my wallet, I can't buy lunch.
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