can't afford something
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
lacks the financial resources to buy or do something
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
không đủ tài chính để mua hoặc làm một việc gì
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: is unable to afford
Register: neutral
Examples
I want a new car, but I can't afford it
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Everyday learner phrase (CEFR B1); level cross-referenced from published learner lists. Definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-08-01; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “can't afford something” mean?
lacks the financial resources to buy or do something Literally: is unable to afford
Is “can't afford something” formal or informal?
can't afford something is generally neutral.