Meaning of 必
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- certainly
- must
- will
- necessarily
How to use 必
On its own, 必 is a formal adverb meaning "certainly" or "must," common in written Chinese and set phrases. In everyday speech it usually appears inside words like 必须 (bìxū), 不必 (bùbì) and 未必 (wèibì). Example: 他说的话未必是真的。(Tā shuō de huà wèibì shì zhēn de.) What he says is not necessarily true.
Picture 心 (xīn, heart) with a firm slash cutting through it. When something cuts right through your heart, you know it is certain and must be done.
Common mistake: Learners often write 必 as 心 plus an extra stroke and get the stroke order wrong. The center dot comes first, then the curved hook, then the long slash, then the two remaining dots. Also, 必须 (bìxū, must) and 必需 (bìxū, to need) sound identical, but 必须 goes before a verb while 必需 describes things you need, as in 必需品 (bìxūpǐn, necessities).
必 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.
必 bì · certainly · 5 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 必.
| 必须 | bìxū | must; to have to |
| 必要 | bìyào | necessary; essential |
| 不必 | bùbì | need not; does not have to |
| 必然 | bìrán | inevitable; certain |
| 未必 | wèibì | not necessarily; maybe not |
| 必需 | bìxū | to need; to require |
| 必将 | bìjiāng | inevitably |
| 必修 | bìxiū | (of an academic course) required; compulsory |
| 何必 | hébì | there is no need; why should |
| 必定 | bìdìng | to be bound to; to be sure to |
| 务必 | wùbì | must; to need to |
| 必不可少 | bìbùkěshǎo | absolutely necessary; indispensable |
Questions about 必
What does 必 mean?
必 (bì) means "certainly; must" and is used as a adverb.
How do you write 必?
必 is made of 1 character: 必 (5 strokes). That is 5 strokes in total.
Is 必 an HSK word?
Yes. 必 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 不必 and 不要?
不必 (bùbì) means "there is no need to," so it removes an obligation. 不要 (bùyào) means "don't," so it tells someone not to do something. 你不必来 means you don't have to come, while 你不要来 means don't come.
Is 必 used alone in modern spoken Chinese?
Not often in casual talk. You will see it alone in formal writing, slogans and idioms such as 有求必应 (yǒu qiú bì yìng, to grant every request). In conversation people usually say 一定 (yídìng) or 必须 (bìxū) instead.