該 meaning and stroke order
Should, ought to, must
How to write 該, stroke by stroke
13 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 該
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- should
- ought to
- probably
- must be
- to deserve
- to owe
How 該 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Speech.
言 gives the meaning and 亥 hints at the sound.
Radical: 言 (words), shared by 155 characters on this site.
How to remember 該
該 combines 言 (speech) for meaning with 亥 (hài) for sound. Picture someone speaking 言 to tell you what you should do: that spoken duty is 該 (gāi).
該 (gāi) is a modal verb meaning "should" and often appears in the word 应该 (yīnggāi). It can also mean "it's someone's turn" or "to deserve", as in 活该 (huógāi, serves you right). Example: 該你了。(Gāi nǐ le.) It's your turn.
Common mistake: Learners often read 該 as hài because of the phonetic 亥, but the correct reading is gāi with a first tone. Also do not confuse it with 刻 (kè), which shares 亥 but has the knife radical 刂 instead of 言.
Common words with 該
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
Questions about 該
How many strokes are in 該?
該 is written with 13 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 該 mean?
該 (gāi) means should, ought to, must. A common word with it is 应该 (yīnggāi), meaning "ought to; should; must".
How do you pronounce 該?
該 is pronounced gāi, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 該?
The radical of 該 is 言, which carries the idea of "words". Dictionaries list 該 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 該?
該 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 该, used in mainland China and Singapore.
What is the difference between 該 and 应该?
Both mean "should", but 应该 (yīnggāi) is the more neutral, common form in speech and writing. 該 alone sounds shorter and more colloquial, and it is also used for meanings like "it's your turn" (該你了), which 应该 does not cover.
Can 該 mean "probably"?
Yes. 該 can express a likely situation, as in 他該到了 (tā gāi dào le), "he should have arrived by now". Here it means an expected or probable outcome rather than an obligation.