Double negatives: 不得不, 没有……不, 不是不
强调 / emphasis
Tone colorsā tone 1á tone 2ǎ tone 3à tone 4a neutral
不得不 + V ｜ 没有 + N + 不 + V ｜ 不是不 + V
Two negatives = a stronger positive:
- 不得不 (bùdébù): "have no choice but to", stronger than 只好: 我不得不借钱.
- 没有……不……: "there's no… who doesn't…" = everyone: 没有人不喜欢他 (everybody likes him).
- 不是不……: "it's not that I don't…", softens a refusal: 我不是不想帮你，是真没钱 (it's not that I don't want to help, I really have no money).
Examples
钱不够，我不得不向银行贷款。
Qián bú gòu, wǒ bùdébù xiàng yínháng dàikuǎn.I didn't have enough money, so I had to take out a bank loan.
没有人不想多挣点儿钱。
Méiyǒu rén bù xiǎng duō zhèng diǎnr qián.There's no one who doesn't want to earn a bit more.
我不是不想买，是太贵了。
Wǒ bú shì bù xiǎng mǎi, shì tài guì le.It's not that I don't want to buy it: it's too expensive.
Common mistakes
✗ 我得不得去。 → ✓ 我不得不去。
✗ 没有人都喜欢他。 → ✓ 没有人不喜欢他。 (= 大家都喜欢他)