巴不得 (bābude): Eager Wish in Chinese
巴不得
巴不得 expresses an eager wish for a situation to happen, often implying that the speaker would welcome it immediately. It comes before the desired clause and is stronger and more emotionally invested than neutral 希望. The desired situation may benefit the speaker or simply be something the subject strongly wants to see happen.
Published July 17, 2026
Reviewed July 17, 2026
01 / PATTERN
See the Structure
MODEL
Subject + 巴不得 + Desired Situation
Read the structure
巴不得 expresses an eager wish for a situation to happen, often implying that the speaker would welcome it immediately. It comes before the desired clause and is stronger and more emotionally invested than neutral 希望. The desired situation may benefit the speaker or simply be something the subject strongly wants to see happen. Keep the model Subject + 巴不得 + Desired Situation visible while you compare each sentence.
我巴不得明天就放假。
I wish the holiday would start tomorrow.
Choose the right context
For an eager personal wish: 我巴不得明天就放假。 To describe someone else's obvious eagerness: 他巴不得马上开始。 When welcoming an offered outcome: 你愿意帮忙？我巴不得呢。
他巴不得马上开始。
He is eager to start immediately.
Respect the boundary
For a neutral, polite hope with little emotional force; 希望 is usually more suitable. Do not reverse the fixed form to 不得巴. Do not put aspect particle 了 between 巴不得 and the desired clause.
我不得巴明天就放假。
(I wish the holiday would start tomorrow.)
Repair the pattern
The fixed expression is reversed: 巴不得 is one fixed modal expression. Its internal order cannot be reversed. 了 is inserted between 巴不得 and the desired clause: 巴不得 directly introduces the desired situation 马上开始; 了 cannot be inserted between them.
我巴不得明天就放假。
Use the repaired structure without changing the intended meaning.
02 / MAP
Read the Sentence
Read from left to right and notice the job performed by each part. The labels describe this example; they are not a rule that every Chinese sentence must copy.
我巴不得明天就放假。
I wish the holiday would start tomorrow.
我
Subject
This part occupies the Subject position in the model pattern.
巴不得
巴不得
This part occupies the 巴不得 position in the model pattern.
明天
Desired Situation
This part occupies the Desired Situation position in the model pattern.
就
Subject
This part occupies the Subject position in the model pattern.
放假
巴不得
This part occupies the 巴不得 position in the model pattern.
03 / EXAMPLES
Examples You Can Reuse
Keep the structure stable while changing the people, objects, times, or conditions. Pinyin is shown as reading support; use the Chinese sentence and translation to confirm the grammar relationship.
我巴不得明天就放假。
I wish the holiday would start tomorrow.
他巴不得马上开始。
He is eager to start immediately.
你愿意帮忙？我巴不得呢。
You are willing to help? I would love that.
04 / LIMITS
When to Use It — and When Not To
Use it when
- For an eager personal wish: 我巴不得明天就放假。
- To describe someone else's obvious eagerness: 他巴不得马上开始。
- When welcoming an offered outcome: 你愿意帮忙？我巴不得呢。
Do not use it when
- For a neutral, polite hope with little emotional force; 希望 is usually more suitable.
- Do not reverse the fixed form to 不得巴.
- Do not put aspect particle 了 between 巴不得 and the desired clause.
05 / REPAIR
Compare Right and Wrong
Compare the smallest meaningful change. Each explanation identifies a placement, scope, form, or clause relationship instead of treating the whole sentence as one undifferentiated mistake.
我不得巴明天就放假。
我巴不得明天就放假。
The fixed expression is reversed
巴不得 is one fixed modal expression. Its internal order cannot be reversed.
他巴不得了马上开始。
他巴不得马上开始。
了 is inserted between 巴不得 and the desired clause
巴不得 directly introduces the desired situation 马上开始; 了 cannot be inserted between them.
我不得巴明天就放假。
Use the fixed order 巴不得: 我巴不得明天就放假。
他巴不得了马上开始。
Do not insert 了 after 巴不得: 他巴不得马上开始。
06 / PRACTICE
Practice the Grammar Point
Complete three short tasks in order: judge the pattern, repair a common error, and build the sentence. Feedback is fixed and reviewed, so these activities do not use a checker allowance.
1. Judge the sentence
2. Choose the correction
3. Build the sentence
Build a complete sentence with 巴不得.
07 / APPLY
Apply It in Your Sentence
Write one original sentence with 巴不得. Your draft moves to the checker through this browser session, selects this grammar point as the first review focus, and waits for you to submit.
08 / QUESTIONS
巴不得 (bābude): Eager Wish Questions
What is the difference between 巴不得 and 希望?
希望 expresses a general hope. 巴不得 conveys strong eagerness and often suggests that the desired situation cannot happen soon enough.
Can 巴不得 be used as a short answer?
Yes. When the desired action is clear from context, 我巴不得呢 can mean 'I would love that.' The omitted content must be recoverable.
09 / SOURCES
Sources and Review Notes
These references support different parts of the lesson. GF0025-2021 supports level placement only; professional grammar works support the explanation, limits, examples, and cross-checks. Their inclusion does not imply endorsement.
Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide, 3rd ed.
Ross, Ma, Chen, He and Yeh · Routledge · 2024
Locator: Construction index and function chapters relevant to 巴不得
Supports the learner-facing account of where 巴不得 appears and what communicative job it performs.
Official sourceChinese: A Comprehensive Grammar, 2nd ed.
Yip and Rimmington · Routledge · 2016
Locator: Relevant sentence and clause chapters for 巴不得
Cross-checks the Subject + 巴不得 + Desired Situation pattern, clause relationship, and limits represented by the reviewed examples.
Official sourceChinese Proficiency Grading Standards for International Chinese Language Education (GF0025-2021)
Ministry of Education and State Language Commission · Ministry of Education of the PRC · 2021
Locator: Appendix A, combined Levels 7–9 grammar inventory
Supports directory placement at HSK 8 as an internal subdivision of the official advanced band; it does not independently prove usage rules.
Official source10 / CONTINUE
Continue with a Connected Rule
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未免未免: A Softened Objection
Compare intense desire with a restrained negative evaluation.
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非…不可非...不可: Absolutely Must
Distinguish wanting something strongly from considering it unavoidable.
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会/能/可以会 / 能 / 可以: How to Say Can
Compare desire with whether an action is possible or permitted.
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又……又……又……又…… Double Coordination
Contrast an intense wish with balanced coordination of two properties or actions.
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