HSK 4
能愿动词：得
néng yuàn dòng cí ： děi
Auxiliary verb: 得 (děi)
Explanation
得 (děi) is a modal verb (a modal verb such as 会 huì, 能 néng, 想 xiǎng... placed before the main verb), meaning 'must, have to', expressing necessity or obligation arising from circumstances or reason.
Subject (the person performing the action, at the head of the sentence) + 得 (děi) + main verb. For example 我得回家 wǒ děi huí jiā = 'I have to go home'.
When saying that oneself or someone else is obliged to do something because of the situation, responsibility, or common sense (it's late so I have to go home; no matter how busy, one still has to eat). It often carries a nuance of reminding or urging.
得 has three easily confused readings: 得 (děi) = must/need (this grammar point, placed before the verb); 得 (de) = particle (a function word added to a sentence to express a grammatical meaning, with no independent meaning of its own) placed AFTER a verb/adjective to link a complement (a component placed after a verb/adjective that adds a result or degree), e.g. 跑得快 pǎo de kuài; 得 (dé) = 'to get, to obtain', which is a verb.
Vietnamese learners often mispronounce it as 'de' and confuse it with the complement marker. In addition, the negative form of 得 (děi) is NOT 不得 but rather 不用 bùyòng ('need not') or 不必 búbì; do not say 我不得回家.
Examples
Today after class I have to go home a bit early.
It's getting late, I have to head home now.
No matter how busy you are, you still have to eat properly!
Practice
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Learn “能愿动词：得” effectively
The grammar point “能愿动词：得” (Auxiliary verb: 得 (děi)) is one of the key structures at HSK 4. To use it fluently, you need to understand the contexts where it's used and practice regularly.
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