can't help

English

Alternative forms

• cannot help

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

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Verb

can't help (third-person singular simple present can't help, no present participle, simple past couldn't help, no past participle)

1. (idiomatic) Be unable to avoid a situation, or stop something from happening.

   I can't help crying whenever I see "Romeo and Juliet".

Usage notes

• Only negative forms of can help have this meaning of cannot avoid.

  No one can help laughing when he comes on stage.

• Can help can have the meaning of be able to avoid only when the context has already established the use of can't help.

  • A: I can't help being scared.
  • B: Of course you can help it.

• This is a catenative verb that takes the gerund or, with but, the bare infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs.

  I can't help agreeing with you.

  I can't help but agree with you.

Translations

not be able to avoid something

• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 忍唔住 (jan² m⁴ zyu⁶)

  Mandarin: 忍不住 (zh) (rěnbuzhù), 不禁 (zh) (bùjīn)

• French: être plus fort que soi, ne pas pouvoir s’empêcher de, ne rien pouvoir y faire
• German: nicht umhin können, nicht lassen können, nicht anders können als
• Italian: non poter fare a meno di, non potere fare a meno di, non poterci fare niente
• Japanese: ...しないではいられない (...shinaide wa irarenai)
• Korean: 안 … ᆯ(할) 수 없다 (an … -l(hal) su eopda)
• Russian: не мочь не (ne močʹ ne)
• Spanish: no poder evitar de, no poder dejar de
• Swedish: inte kunna låta bli, inte rå för, inte kunna rå för

Anagrams

• planchet