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How to say “absolutely must” in Chinese with 非 (fēi) … 不可 (bùkě)

非 (fēi) + Verb / Noun + 不可 (bùkě)

Adding emphasis with "非 (fēi) … 不可 (bùkě)"

HSK 6Sentence patterns

Rule structure

非 (fēi)…不可 (bùkě) is an emphatic structure meaning "must, have to". It expresses strong necessity or determination. Can also indicate inevitability.

Examples

我非去不可。

Wǒ fēi qù bùkě.

I absolutely have to go.

Practice

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Frequently asked questions

How do you express “Adding emphasis with "非 (fēi) … 不可 (bùkě)"” in Chinese?

Use the structure: 非 (fēi) + Verb / Noun + 不可 (bùkě). For example: 我非去不可。 — “I absolutely have to go.”.

What is an example sentence with this grammar rule?

我非去不可。 — “I absolutely have to go.”.

Which HSK level includes this grammar rule?

This grammar rule is part of HSK 6.

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More HSK 6 grammar rules

Expressing "could it be possible that" with "莫非 (mòfēi)"

莫非 (mòfēi) + Speculation?

Expressing "must" with "非得 (fēiděi)"

Subj. + 非得 (fēiděi) + Verb Phrase + 不可 (bùkě) / 才行 (cái xíng)

Expressing "at the same time" with "兼 (jiān)"

兼 (jiān) + Noun / Verb (concurrently)

Expressing "similar to" with "跟 (gēn) … 似的 (shìde)"

跟 (gēn) + Noun + 似的 (shìde) — as if, like

Expressing "to be worthy of" with "不愧是 (bùkuì shì)"

不愧是 (bùkuì shì) + Noun / Noun Phrase

Expressing "nothing is more…than" with "莫过于 (mòguòyú)"

莫过于 (mòguòyú) + Noun / Verb Phrase

"Could it be that" with "岂不是 (qǐ bù shì)"

岂不是 (qǐ bù shì) + Rhetorical Question

Expressing "from this" with "由此 (yóucǐ)"

由此 (yóucǐ) + Verb / Clause (hence, thus)