must; have to
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 5 examplesadverb
must; necessarily; have to
informalUsed to express a strong necessity or compulsion. It is almost always paired with a preceding negation like “不” to form a double-negative structure meaning 'must' or 'have to' (e.g., 不…非得…). Can also be used to express that only a specific method/person/thing will suffice (e.g., 非得…才行).
Mián棉
huā花
zhǎng长
le了
yá蚜
chóng虫
，
fēi非
děi得
dǎ打
yào药
（
bù不
chéng成
）
。
If the cotton gets aphids, you must spray pesticide (or it won't do).
Gàn干
zhè这
huór活
fēi儿
děi非
dǎn得
zi胆
dà子
bù大
（
xíng不
行
）
。
To do this job, you have to be bold (or it's impossible).
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Zhè这
bìng病
méi没
shén什
me么
dà大
ài碍
，
tā他
fēi非
děi得
shàng上
yī医
yuàn院
。
This illness isn't serious, but he insists on going to the hospital.
Zhè这
jiàn件
shì事
fēi非
děi得
nǐ你
qīn亲
zì自
chū出
miàn面
cái才
néng能
jiě解
jué决
。
This matter can only be resolved if you personally step in.
Bù不
chī吃
le了
yào药
，
nǐ你
de的
bìng病
fēi非
děi得
hǎo好
bù不
liǎo了
。
If you don't take the medicine, your illness definitely won't get better.