必得 (bì děi) — must; have to

Definition

必得 (bìděi) is a strong, emphatic 'must, have to' — more forceful than 应该 ('should') and more written than the colloquial 得 (děi). Use it to stress an unavoidable obligation.

auxiliary verb
musthave to

Examples

  • 必得。
    Zhè ge wèn tí nǐ bì děi zì jǐ jiě jué.
    You must solve this problem yourself.
  • ，必得。
    Cān jiā kǎo shì qián, bì děi xiān bào míng.
    Before taking the exam, you must register first.
  • ，必得。
    Yào xiǎng chéng gōng, bì děi fù chū nǔ lì.
    To succeed, one must put in effort.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

必bìcertainly
得déhave to

The 必 certainly and 得 have to together express necessity.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 必 comes from the handle on the right side of a weapon, with two extra strokes added to its sides.

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Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The old form 㝵 showed a hand picking up a cowry, meaning to obtain; later changes turned that picture into 得.

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