How to say “must not” in Chinese

不得

bùdé

must not, not allowed

verb · HSK 6 · topic “Connectors and particles”

“Must not” in Chinese is 不得, bù dé: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.

How to pronounce it

不得 is read bù dé: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.

bù — 4th tonesharply falling, like “Stop!”

dé — 2nd tonerising, like a surprised “huh?”

How to write it

不

bù — not, no

Before a fourth tone it is read bú: 不是 bú shì.

得

dé — get, obtain

In 觉得 it is read with the neutral tone: de.

Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “不得”.

Examples

Sentences from the course lessons with 不得. Tap the sound icon to listen.

我不得不拒绝他。wǒbùdébújùjuétāI have no choice but to turn him down.
雨太大了我们不得不回家yǔtàidàle,wǒmenbùdébùhuíjiāThe rain is too heavy, we have to go home.
真抱歉我不得不拒绝你的邀请zhēnbàoqiàn,wǒbùdébújùjuénǐdeyāoqǐngI'm really sorry, but I have to decline your invitation.
今天热得不得了。jīntiānrèdebùdéliǎoIt's terribly hot today.
这个药你吃不得。zhègeyàonǐchībudeYou mustn't take this medicine.
你腰受伤了，重东西搬不得。nǐyāoshòushāngle,zhòngdōngxibānbudeYou've hurt your lower back — you mustn't lift heavy things.

More words from the lesson “The language of notices”

Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.

Frequently asked questions

How do you say “must not” in Chinese?

“Must not” in Chinese is 不得, pinyin bùdé.

What does 不得 mean?

不得 (bùdé) means “must not, not allowed”.

How do you write 不得?

不得 is 2 characters: 不 (bù) — not, no; 得 (dé) — get, obtain. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.

How do you pronounce 不得?

不得 is read bùdé. Tones: bù — fourth tone, dé — second tone. The page has a native speaker recording.

“must not” in the lesson “The language of notices”

This word is from the topic “Connectors and particles” of HSK 6. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.

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