求之不得 in English qiu2 zhi1 bu4 de2 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) seek but fail to get (idiomatic expression); metaphorically exactly what one’s been looking for

Simplified Characters

求 之 不 得

Traditional Characters

求 之 不 得

Pinyin

qiu2 zhi1 bu4 de2

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

求qiu2to seek 之zhi1(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5]) 不bu4(negative prefix) 得de2to obtain