必 bì — certainly; must; will; necessarily
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.
Common words: 必须 (bì xū)、必要 (bì yào)、不必 (bù bì)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "must"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "must", including 必 (bì), 须 (xū). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words, and examples.
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "must" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 必 (bì), 须 (xū) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters do not share a sound — their readings span bì, xū — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 必 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 必 bìcertainly; must; will; necessarilyUseful words: 必须, 必要
- 须 xūbeard; necessary; must; beard; mustacheUseful words: 必须, 胡须
Common words for these 2 "must" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 必 (bì) — so "must" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 2 ways to say "must".
须 xū — beard; necessary; must; beard; mustache
过马路必须看红绿灯。Guò mǎ lù bì xū kàn hóng lǜ dēng.When crossing the road, you must watch the traffic lights.
Common words: 必须 (bì xū)、胡须 (hú xū)、须知 (xū zhī)
All 2 characters
Open 必、须 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.