Meaning of 舍得
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to be willing to part with sth
How to use 舍得
舍得 is used for being willing to spend money, time, or give up something you value. It often appears in questions and in the negative form 舍不得 (shěbude), which means you cannot bear to part with something. Example: 他很舍得花钱。(Tā hěn shěde huā qián.) He doesn't mind spending money.
舍 (shě) means to give up or let go, and 得 (de) here shows you can manage it. Put together, 舍得 is being able to let something go without it hurting too much.
Common mistake: Learners often read 舍 with fourth tone, shè, as in 宿舍 (sùshè, dormitory), but in 舍得 it is third tone, shě. The 得 is also neutral tone here, not dé as in 得到 (dédào).
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
舍 shě · house · 8 strokes
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得 dé · to obtain · 11 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 舍得.
| 觉得 | juéde | to think that ...; to feel that ...; to feel (uncomfortable etc) |
| 得到 | dédào | to get; to obtain; to receive |
| 记得 | jìde | to remember |
| 懂得 | dǒngde | to understand; to know; to comprehend |
| 取得 | qǔdé | to acquire; to get; to obtain |
| 得出 | déchū | to obtain (a result); to arrive at (a conclusion) |
| 不得不 | bùdébù | have no choice or option but to; cannot but |
| 值得 | zhídé | worth the money; to merit; to deserve; to be worth (doing sth) |
| 认得 | rènde | to recognize; to remember sth (or sb) on seeing it |
| 显得 | xiǎnde | to seem; to look |
| 得分 | défēn | to score a point (in a competition, test etc); score; rating; grade |
| 获得 | huòdé | to obtain; to receive; to get |
Questions about 舍得
What does 舍得 mean?
舍得 (shěde) means "to be willing to part with sth" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 舍得?
舍得 is made of 2 characters: 舍 (8 strokes), 得 (11 strokes). That is 19 strokes in total.
Is 舍得 an HSK word?
Yes. 舍得 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 舍得 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 舍得 is written 捨得.
What is the difference between 舍得 and 舍不得?
舍得 means you are willing to give something up. 舍不得 means you are not willing or cannot bear to, for example 我舍不得你走 (wǒ shěbude nǐ zǒu), I can't bear to see you leave. In everyday speech 舍不得 is actually more common.
Can 舍得 be used in a positive way to describe someone's character?
Yes. Saying someone 舍得 spend on education or 舍得 put in effort praises their generosity or commitment. There is also a saying 有舍才有得 (yǒu shě cái yǒu dé), meaning you must give up something to gain something.