How to say “should” in Chinese
should; it's time to
“Should” in Chinese is 该, gāi: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
该 is read gāi. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
On the left, 讠 “speech”. The right part is the same as in 孩 hái.
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 “该”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 该. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 你应该多休息。nǐyīnggāiduōxiūxiYou should rest more.
- 你应该告诉经理nǐyīnggāigàosujīnglǐYou should tell the manager.
- 十二点了，该吃午饭了。shí’èrdiǎnle,gāichīwǔfànleIt's twelve already, time for lunch.
- 你该休息了nǐgāixiūxileIt's time for you to rest.
- 我该走了wǒgāizǒuleIt's time for me to go.
- 该下班了gāixiàbānleTime to finish work.
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “Plans and decisions”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “should” in Chinese?
“Should” in Chinese is 该, pinyin gāi.
What does 该 mean?
该 (gāi) means “should; it's time to”.
How do you write 该?
该 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 该?
该 is read gāi. Tones: gāi — first tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“should” in the lesson “Plans and decisions”
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.
Start for free