Meaning
certainly; must; will; necessarily
Chinese: 一定、必须。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “bi” becomes a different word in each tone. 必 is the 4th tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 必须bì xūto have to; must; compulsory; necessarily
- 必要bì yàonecessary; essential; indispensable; required
- 不必bù bìneed not; does not have to; not necessarily
- 必然bì ráninevitable; certain; necessity
- 未必wèi bìnot necessarily; maybe not
Example Sentence
学好中文必须多练习。Xué hǎo Zhōng wén bì xū duō liàn xí.To learn Chinese well, you must practice a lot.
学好Xué hǎoto follow good examples中文Zhōng wénChinese language必须bì xūto have to多duōmany练习liàn xíto practice。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
A mark across 心 (heart) / 弋: the sense is ‘must, certainly, surely; to be sure to’ (必须, 必然, 一定).
A way to remember it
‘Must / certainly’: 必须 (must), 必然 (inevitable).
Easy to confuse with
- 心‘Heart’: 必 is 心 with a slanting stroke cutting across.