Writing
不得 (bù dé) — how to say "must not" in Chinese
不得
Must not, not allowed
verb
Character composition
不
not
得
to get, can
Radicals / Keys
彳
Step
#60 · chì · 3 strokes
一
One
#1 · yī · 1 stroke
Synonyms
Collocations
不得吸烟的场所
bù dé xī yān de chǎng suǒ
a place where smoking is not allowed
不得进入的房间
bù dé jìn rù de fáng jiān
a room one must not enter
Examples
学生不得在考试时使用手机。
Students must not use phones during the exam.
这里不得吸烟。
Smoking is not allowed here.
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Frequently asked questions
How do you say "must not" in Chinese?
"must not" in Chinese is 不得 (bù dé).
不得 meaning in English
不得 (bù dé) means "Must not, not allowed".
How is 不得 pronounced?
It is pronounced bù dé (written as bu de, bude). You can listen to the pronunciation on this page.
How do you write "must not" in Chinese characters?
It is written 不得: 不 has 4 strokes, 得 has 11 strokes. The Writing section above animates the stroke order of each character and lets you trace it.
What HSK 3.0 level is 不得?
不得 is on the HSK 3.0 level 6 word list. It is not part of the six-level HSK 2.0 lists.
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Grammar with 不得
不得不 — have to, forced to
Subj. + 不得不 (bùdébù) + Verb Phrase
得 — advanced degree complements
Adj. + 得 (de) + 很 (hěn) / 不得了 (bù de le) / 要命 (yàomìng) / 不行 (bùxíng)
难怪 — no wonder
Reason，怪不得 (guàibude) / 难怪 (nánguài) + Observation
得不得了 — extremely, unbearably
Adj. + 得不得了 (de bùdéliǎo)
不得不 vs 只好 — no choice vs reluctant
不得不 (bùdébù) + Verb (no choice, compelled) / 只好 (zhǐhǎo) + Verb (reluctant but accepting)
不得了 — oh no, an extreme situation
不得了 (bùdéliǎo)! (+ Situation)