English–Chinese
“have to” in Chinese
How to say “have to” in Chinese
“Have to” in Chinese is 得 (děi).
A situation closes off the other choices and leaves one action necessary.
Example sentences with 得
他下午得休息一下。tā xià wǔ děi xiū xī yí xià
He has to rest a little in the afternoon.
Tips for using 得
- In listening, the brief sound děi can be easy to miss, but hearing it changes the following action from a possible plan into a required one.
Other Chinese words for “have to”
明天你非得来上班吗？míng tiān nǐ fēi děi lái shàng bān ma
Do you really have to come to work tomorrow?
我不得不去上班。wǒ bù dé bú qù shàng bān
I have to go to work.