不可救藥

See also: 不可救药

Chinese

		cannot; should not; must not	to rescue; to remedy; to cure
trad. (不可救藥)		不可	救藥
simp. (不可救药)		不可	救药

Etymology

From the Classic of Poetry, poem 254 (《詩經·大雅·板》):

多將熇熇，不可救藥。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]

---

多将熇熇，不可救药。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11^th – 7^th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

Duō jiāng hèhè, bùkě jiùyào. [Pinyin]

But the troubles will multiply like flames, till they are beyond help or remedy.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): bùkějiùyào

  (Zhuyin): ㄅㄨˋ ㄎㄜˇ ㄐㄧㄡˋ ㄧㄠˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): bat¹ ho² gau³ joek⁶
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): put-khó-kiù-io̍h

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: bùkějiùyào
    • Zhuyin: ㄅㄨˋ ㄎㄜˇ ㄐㄧㄡˋ ㄧㄠˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: bùkějiòuyào
    • Wade–Giles: pu⁴-kʻo³-chiu⁴-yao⁴
    • Yale: bù-kě-jyòu-yàu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: bukeejiowyaw
    • Palladius: букэцзюяо (bukɛczjujao)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pu⁵¹ kʰɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡ɕi̯oʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ jɑʊ̯⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: bat¹ ho² gau³ joek⁶
    • Yale: bāt hó gau yeuhk
    • Cantonese Pinyin: bat⁷ ho² gau³ joek⁹
    • Guangdong Romanization: bed¹ ho² geo³ yêg⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pɐt̚⁵ hɔː³⁵ kɐu̯³³ jœːk̚²/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: put-khó-kiù-io̍h
    • Tâi-lô: put-khó-kiù-io̍h
    • Phofsit Daibuun: putqoy'kiuo'ioih
    • IPA (Xiamen): /put̚³²⁻⁴ kʰo⁵³⁻⁴⁴ kiu²¹⁻⁵³ ioʔ⁴/

Idiom

不可救藥

1. incurable; cureless; beyond cure
2. (figurative) hopeless; beyond help; incorrigible
   • 2023, “小林不動產”, 梁嘉茵 [Serrini] (lyrics), 林家謙 [Terence Lam] (music)‎^[1]performed by 林家謙 [Terence Lam]:

     你我不可救藥　越躺躺　以後越高產　咁嘅樣 [Literary Cantonese, trad.]
     你我不可救药　越躺躺　以后越高产　咁嘅样 [Literary Cantonese, simp.]

     nei⁵ ngo⁵ bat¹ ho² gau³ joek⁶, jyut⁶ tong² tong², ji⁵ hau⁶ jyut⁶ gou¹ caan², gam² ge³ joeng^6-2 [Jyutping]

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 不可救藥 (“incurable; beyond cure; beyond help”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		不可救藥, 無可救藥, 無藥可救
Mandarin	Taiwan	無藥可救
	Singapore	無藥可救
Cantonese	Hong Kong	無藥可救, 冇得救, 冇藥醫
Hakka	Meixian	無救
Southern Min	Xiamen	無藥醫, 無醫
	Quanzhou	無醫
	Zhangzhou	無醫
	Tainan	無藥醫, 無醫
	Jieyang	無救泅
	Leizhou	無藥醫
Wu	Shanghai	嘸藥醫

• 病入膏肓 (bìngrùgāohuāng)