# Không khỏi: cannot help in Vietnamese (B2)

> Không khỏi before a feeling means "can't help feeling": không khỏi bất ngờ (can't help being surprised), không khỏi lo lắng (can't help worrying), không…

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/khong-khoi/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**cannot help**

Pattern: `[person] + không khỏi + [feeling verb]`

Level: B2 (our estimate) · Register: formal · Medium: written

Typed without accents: khong khoi

*Không khỏi* before a feeling means "can't help feeling": *không khỏi bất ngờ* (can't help being surprised), *không khỏi lo lắng* (can't help worrying), *không khỏi xúc động* (can't help being moved). *Khỏi* here means to escape, so the phrase says the feeling couldn't be avoided.

It goes after the person and before a feeling word, usually of two syllables: *Nhiều phụ huynh không khỏi lo lắng.* The cause often comes with *trước* (in the face of) or *khi* (when): *Du khách không khỏi bất ngờ trước vẻ đẹp của hang động.*

You'll meet it in news reports and feature stories, describing how people reacted, and in personal essays. It's a stock phrase with a fairly small set of feelings: surprise, worry, emotion, regret (*tiếc nuối*), unease (*băn khoăn*).

Watch out for *khỏi* on its own in Saigon speech. There, *khỏi* + verb means "no need to": *Khỏi lo!* No need to worry! So *khỏi lo* means don't worry, while *không khỏi lo lắng* means can't help worrying, almost the opposite.

In conversation, people just name the feeling: *Nghe tin đó em lo ghê*, I was really worried when I heard.

## Examples

- Nhiều du khách không khỏi bất ngờ trước vẻ đẹp của hang động. — Many visitors can't help being surprised by the beauty of the cave.
- Phụ huynh không khỏi lo lắng khi học phí tiếp tục tăng. — Parents can't help worrying as tuition fees keep rising.
- Gặp lại thầy giáo cũ sau 30 năm, ông không khỏi xúc động. — Meeting his old teacher again after 30 years, he couldn't help being moved.
- Kết quả khảo sát khiến các nhà nghiên cứu không khỏi băn khoăn. — The survey results left the researchers uneasy.

## Compare

- [Can't not, so must: không thể không](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/khong-the-khong-must/): cannot help but / must
- [No need to: khỏi + verb](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/khoi-no-need/): no need to, don't bother

Previous in Saying no and not: [Throwing a word back: X + gì mà + X](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/gi-ma-reject/)
Next in Saying no and not: [Can't not, so must: không thể không](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/khong-the-khong-must/)

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