How to say “have to” in Chinese
have to
“Have to” in Chinese is 得, děi: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
得 is read děi. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
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 “得”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 得. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 我觉得包子很好吃wǒjuédebāozihěnhǎochīI think baozi are really tasty.
- 你觉得好吃吗？nǐjuédehǎochīmaDo you think it's tasty?
- 你觉得这家饭店怎么样？nǐjuédezhèjiāfàndiànzěnmeyàngWhat do you think of this restaurant?
- 你记得我吗？nǐjìdewǒmaDo you remember me?
- 你吃得太快了。nǐchīdetàikuàileYou eat too fast.
- 我考得不太好wǒkǎodebútàihǎoI didn't do very well.
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “Should, have to, must”
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 得, pinyin děi.
What does 得 mean?
得 (děi) means “have to”.
How do you write 得?
得 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 得?
得 is read děi. Tones: děi — third tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“have to” in the lesson “Should, have to, must”
This word is from the topic “Work and business” of HSK 3. 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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