Verb + 不出 + Result
Reach for this when you tried to do something with your senses or your brain, and the answer just won't come. 看不出 means you looked but couldn't tell. 想不出 means you thought but couldn't come up with it. The action happened; the result did not. It's the negative side of the potential complement V+出, which is about producing a result that emerges out of the action.
Structure
[VERB] 不出 [RESULT]
[VERB] bùchū [RESULT]
How to Think About It
出 means 'come out' — the result should emerge from the action like a coin from a vending machine. 不出 says the machine took your effort but nothing dropped. The verb works; the output doesn't. That's why it pairs with perception and mental verbs (看, 听, 想, 猜, 认) — verbs that are supposed to produce a finding.
Examples
你看不出是假的。
Nǐ kàn bù chū shì jiǎ de.
You can't tell it's fake.
我想不出他叫什么名字。
Wǒ xiǎng bù chū tā jiào shénme míngzi.
I can't think of what his name is.
这两个颜色我看不出有什么不同。
Zhè liǎng ge yánsè wǒ kàn bù chū yǒu shénme bùtóng.
I can't see any difference between these two colors.
Common Mistake
Learners often swap in 不能 to mean 'can't', writing 不能看出. The potential complement already carries the 'can't' meaning — 不出 is the negation. Stacking 不能 in front is doubled-up negation that natives don't say.
我不能看出这是假的。
我看不出这是假的。
Don't Confuse With
Verb + 不到
不到 means the result was unreachable (didn't find it, didn't get it). 不出 means nothing emerged from the attempt. 找不到 = can't find it; 想不出 = can't think of one.
Verb + 出来
出来 is the positive — the result did come out. 看出来 = figured it out. 看不出 = couldn't figure it out.
没 + Verb
没看 means you didn't look at all. 看不出 means you looked and failed to tell.
Practice
Fill in the blank: 我看___这是真的还是假的。 (I can't tell if this is real or fake.)
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不出
Fill in the blank: 他___不出一个好办法。 (He can't think of a good idea.)
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想
Arrange: 是 / 谁 / 我 / 不出 / 听 (I can't tell who it is by listening.)
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我听不出是谁。
Translate to Chinese: I can't see any problem with this sentence.
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我看不出这个句子有什么问题。
Write one sentence using V+不出 about something you tried to figure out but couldn't.
Show answer
我看了半天，还是看不出这张照片里的人是男的还是女的。
Hear It in Real Episodes
This pattern appears in 1 Fluentide episode: