巴不得: be only too eager to, can't wait for
【高68】固定短语 / fixed patterns
Tone colorsā tone 1á tone 2ǎ tone 3à tone 4a neutral
巴不得 voices an ardent, impatient wish: “be only too eager to, can't wait for it to happen, ask for nothing better”. It sits right before the wished-for event, with no 想, 要 or 希望: 我巴不得明天就放假。
The 不 is not a negation: 巴不得 is positive, and much stronger than 希望. The wish may be about someone else (我巴不得他走: “I'd like nothing better than for him to leave”), which makes it a tool for blunt honesty or irony. Answering an invitation, 我巴不得呢！ means “I'd love to!”.
It is colloquial. For a polite wish keep 希望 or 祝; 巴不得 shows all the impatience (or all the resentment) of the speaker.
Examples
甲：周末陪我去爬山，好吗？乙：我巴不得呢！
Jiǎ: Zhōumò péi wǒ qù pá shān, hǎo ma? Yǐ: Wǒ bābudé ne!A: Will you come hiking with me this weekend? B: I'd love nothing better!
明天就放假了，孩子们巴不得今天晚上就出发。
Míngtiān jiù fàngjià le, háizimen bābudé jīntiān wǎnshang jiù chūfā.The holidays start tomorrow, and the children can't wait to set off tonight.
他一口气跑了半个多小时，巴不得一步就到家。
Tā yìkǒuqì pǎo le bàn ge duō xiǎoshí, bābudé yí bù jiù dào jiā.He ran for over half an hour without a break, wishing he could get home in a single step.
一听说可以提前下班，大家都巴不得马上收拾东西回家。
Yì tīngshuō kěyǐ tíqián xiàbān, dàjiā dōu bābudé mǎshàng shōushi dōngxi huí jiā.As soon as they heard they could leave early, everyone was itching to pack up and go home.
他早就受够了这份工作，巴不得明天就辞职。
Tā zǎo jiù shòu gòu le zhè fèn gōngzuò, bābudé míngtiān jiù cízhí.He has long been fed up with this job and would love to resign tomorrow.
他一直嫌这里太吵，我巴不得他早点搬走。
Tā yìzhí xián zhèlǐ tài chǎo, wǒ bābudé tā zǎodiǎn bānzǒu.He keeps complaining that it is too noisy here; I'd be only too glad to see him move out soon.
Common mistakes
✗ reading 巴不得 as a negation → the 不 negates nothing: 我巴不得他来 = “I can't wait for him to come”.
✗ 我巴不得想去。 → ✓ 我巴不得去。 (no 想 or 要 after 巴不得).
✗ 我巴不得您身体健康。 → ✓ 我希望您身体健康。 (巴不得 is too blunt for a polite wish).