How to say “have to” in Chinese
have to, be forced to
“Have to” in Chinese is 不得不, bù dé bù: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
不得不 is read bù dé bù: 3 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
Before a fourth tone it is read bú: 不是 bú shì.
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 “不得不”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 不得不. 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.
More words from the lesson “Invitations and saying no”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “have to” in Chinese?
“Have to” in Chinese is 不得不, pinyin bùdébù.
What does 不得不 mean?
不得不 (bùdébù) means “have to, be forced to”.
How do you write 不得不?
不得不 is 3 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?
不得不 is read bùdébù. Tones: bù — fourth tone, dé — second tone, bù — fourth tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“have to” in the lesson “Invitations and saying no”
This word is from the topic “Politeness and conversation” of HSK 4. 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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