‘禁不住’ is a verb phrase meaning ‘cannot help but’ or ‘cannot endure’—it expresses an involuntary emotional or physical reaction that one cannot suppress. The character 禁 (jīn) here means ‘to bear’ or ‘to withstand’ (not the more common ‘forbid’ sense), 不 (bù) is the negation particle, and 住 (zhù) functions as a result complement indicating ‘to stop’ or ‘to hold back’. Together, they literally convey ‘cannot hold back’, emphasizing loss of self-control in the face of strong feelings (e.g., laughter, tears, desire) or overwhelming stimuli.

This phrase is commonly used in spoken and informal written Chinese to describe spontaneous, uncontrollable reactions—especially emotional ones like crying, laughing, blushing, or longing. It often appears with verbs of sensation or emotion: 禁不住笑 (can’t help laughing), 禁不住哭 (burst into tears), 禁不住想 (can’t help thinking about). It carries a slightly literary yet natural tone and is widely understood across age groups.