Meaning of 应该
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- ought to; should; must
How to use 应该
应该 goes right before a verb to say what someone should do, and it can also mean "probably" when you are guessing. Example: 你应该多喝水。(Nǐ yīnggāi duō hē shuǐ.) You should drink more water.
Both halves of 应该 (yīnggāi) mean roughly the same idea: 应 (yīng) means "should, ought" and 该 (gāi) also means "should, be due to". Two "shoulds" stacked together give you a firm "ought to".
Common mistake: Learners often read 应 with the fourth tone because of words like 反应 (fǎnyìng) and 适应 (shìyìng), but in 应该 it is first tone, yīng. Also, the negative is 不应该 (bù yīnggāi), not 没应该.
应该 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
应 yīng · to agree · 7 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
该 gāi · should · 8 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
Related words
Words that share a character with 应该.
| 答应 | dāying | to answer; to respond; to answer positively; to agree; to accept; to promise |
| 反应 | fǎnyìng | to react; to respond |
| 适应 | shìyìng | to adapt; to fit |
| 应当 | yīngdāng | should; ought to |
| 应用 | yìngyòng | to put to use; to apply; practical; applied (science, linguistics etc) |
| 供应 | gōngyìng | to supply; to provide (goods, services etc) |
| 相应 | xiāngyìng | to correspond; answering (one another) |
| 对应 | duìyìng | to correspond (to); to be equivalent to; to be a counterpart to |
| 回应 | huíyìng | to respond; response |
| 应对 | yìngduì | to answer; to reply; to handle; to deal with |
| 应急 | yìngjí | to respond to an emergency; to meet a contingency |
| 应付 | yìngfu | to deal with; to cope |
Questions about 应该
What does 应该 mean?
应该 (yīnggāi) means "ought to; should; must" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 应该?
应该 is made of 2 characters: 应 (7 strokes), 该 (8 strokes). That is 15 strokes in total.
Is 应该 an HSK word?
Yes. 应该 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 应该 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 应该 is written 應該.
Can 应该 mean "probably" instead of "should"?
Yes. It often expresses a reasonable guess. 他应该到了。(Tā yīnggāi dào le.) means "He has probably arrived by now."
What is the difference between 应该 and 应当?
They mean the same thing. 应当 (yīngdāng) sounds more formal and written, while 应该 is the everyday choice in speech.