必须 (bìxū) — must

HSK 3 | modal verb | must, have to — expresses strong obligation or necessity

必须 (bìxū)

必须 expresses a strong obligation or necessity. It means "must" or "have to," and is stronger than 应该 (yīnggāi — should). The negative form is 不必 (bùbì — don't need to) rather than 不必须.

Meanings

  1. [modal verb] Must; have to; it is necessary to.

Example Sentences

你必须按时交作业。 Nǐ bìxū ànshí jiāo zuòyè. You must hand in your homework on time.

进入这里必须出示证件。 Jìnrù zhèlǐ bìxū chūshì zhèngjiàn. You must show identification to enter here.

学习语言必须多练习。 Xuéxí yǔyán bìxū duō liànxí. Learning a language requires a lot of practice.

他必须今天做完这件事。 Tā bìxū jīntiān zuòwán zhè jiàn shì. He must finish this today.

Collocations

Collocation Meaning
必须要 absolutely must
不必 don't need to / unnecessary
必须注意 must pay attention
必须完成 must complete
必须遵守 must comply with

Memory Hook

必 (certainly / definitely — a dagger through the center, no way around it) plus 须 (must / beard — something that grows whether you want it to or not). Unavoidable necessity on both sides.