得

děi
HSK 4
#39 most
frequent character
to have to, must, ought to
verb

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

得 was first written 㝵, showing a hand with a shell, meaning 'to get'. Later 彳 was added to stress the action. The meaning grew to 'result', 'able', and 'appropriate'; read děi, it means 'should'.

Drawn as: hand grasping cowrie shell

得 as a component in other characters

sound1 character
嘚

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Example Sentences

我得去上班，不然会迟到。
wǒ dé qù shàngbān ， bùrán huì chídào 。
I have to go to work, otherwise I will be late.
你得完成这项任务。
nǐ dé wánchéng zhèxiàng rènwù 。
You must complete this task.
为了健康，你得多练习。
wèile jiànkāng ， nǐ dé duō liànxí 。
For your health, you ought to practice more.

Words with similar meanings

必须bìxū
must
Indicates a stronger obligation compared to '得'.
需要xūyào
need to
Implies necessity but can be less forceful than '得'.

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