The Chinese phrase "巴不得" is formed as a fixed idiomatic expression that originated from classical Chinese, where "巴" historically carries the meaning of "to hope for eagerly" or "to cling to," and "不得" functions as a negative complement meaning "cannot get" or "cannot achieve." When combined, the literal sense is "to eagerly hope for but cannot obtain," which over time grammaticalized into a single adverb meaning "to wish intensely for something to happen," often with a connotation of eagerness or frustration that it is not yet a reality. It is used to express a strong, sometimes impatient desire for a hypothetical or anticipated situation, making it distinct from the more neutral "希望" (to hope).