# Nổi / xuể: can't manage, can't cope in Vietnamese (B1)

> After a verb, không nổi says you can't manage something because it's too much for you: too heavy, too far, too hard, too expensive.

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/khong-noi-cannot-manage/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**can't manage, can't cope**

Pattern: `[verb] + không nổi · [verb] + không xuể · [verb] + (có) nổi không?`

Level: B1 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Typed without accents: noi, xue

After a verb, *không nổi* says you can't manage something because it's too much for you: too heavy, too far, too hard, too expensive. *Nặng quá, em xách không nổi.* It's too heavy, I can't lift it. *Nổi* here means having the strength for it.

*Không* usually goes after the verb, as in *xách không nổi*; before it, *không xách nổi*, is also fine. To ask whether someone can cope, put *nổi không* at the end: *Còn xa lắm, anh đi nổi không?* It's still a long way, can you manage? Answer *Nổi* or *Không nổi*.

It works for money too: *Mắc quá, em mua không nổi.* It's too expensive, I can't afford it (in Hà Nội, *Đắt quá*). And *chịu không nổi* means "can't stand it": *Nóng quá, chịu không nổi!*

When there's too much to keep up with, you'll also meet *không xuể*: *Đơn hàng nhiều quá, làm không xuể.* It's standard in writing everywhere, and common in set phrases like *đếm không xuể*, too many to count. In everyday Saigon speech, *không nổi* usually covers both.

Compare *được*: *Em ăn không được* means you can't eat it, perhaps because it's too spicy; *Em ăn không nổi* means you've had all you can manage. *Kịp* is about time: *làm không kịp* means you can't finish in time.

## Examples

- Nặng quá, em xách không nổi. — It's too heavy, I can't lift it.
- Nhiều quá, em ăn không nổi nữa. — It's too much, I can't eat any more.
- Saigon: Mắc quá, em mua không nổi. | Hà Nội: Đắt quá, em mua không nổi. — It's too expensive, I can't afford it.
- Còn xa lắm, anh đi nổi không? — It's still a long way, can you manage?
- Saigon: Đơn hàng nhiều quá, làm không nổi. | Hà Nội: Đơn hàng nhiều quá, làm không xuể. — There are so many orders, we can't keep up.

## Compare

- [Can, manage to: được after the verb](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/duoc-can-after-verb/): be able to
- [(Not) in time: (không) kịp](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/kip-in-time/): have (no) time to

Previous in Can, must, should, want: [That's enough, never mind: Thôi!](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/thoi-enough/)
Next in Can, must, should, want: [Dare (not): (không) dám](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/dam-dare/)

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