Sentence patternsHSK 6
Expressing “must" with 非得
You use 非得...不可 / 不行 to express that something absolutely must happen or be done. This pattern is more emphatic than 必须 (bìxū). In informal speech, 不可 or 不行 is often dropped, but the full structure is common in written Chinese.
Structure
Subj. + 非得 + Verb Phrase + 不可 / 不行
a context clause often precedes the subject
Subj. + 非 + Verb Phrase + 不可
the 得 can be omitted, but then 不可 is generally required
Examples
- 我非得把作业做完不可。Wǒ fēiděi bǎ zuòyè zuò wán bùkě.I absolutely must finish my homework.
- 他非要去不可。Tā fēi yào qù bùkě.He simply must go.
- 这个问题非得解决不行。Zhège wèntí fēiděi jiějué bùxíng.This problem absolutely must be solved.
- 你非把真相告诉我不可！Nǐ fēi bǎ zhēnxiàng gàosu wǒ bùkě!You absolutely must tell me the truth!
- 今天的会非得参加不行。Jīntiān de huì fēiděi cānjiā bùxíng.Today’s meeting must be attended (no way around it).