Expressing determination with "feiyao"

Most advanced Chinese learners know how to express "wanting to do something" with 要, but sometimes you need to turn it up a degree and express "absolutely insist on doing something". In that case, you can use 非要.

How to use 非要

Just use 非要 like the auxiliary verb 要. Use it coupled with another verb.

Subject + 非要 + Verb

非要 could be thought of as "absolutely wanting " or "absolutely insist" on doing something. It can be thought of as the short form of 非常想要.

Examples

• 您 是 我们 的 客人，我 非要 帮 您 带 您 的 行李 上 去。
• 李 先生 觉得 不 好 意思，他 非要 向 他们 道歉。
• 她 非要 一 边 吃 饭 一 边 看 漫画。

How to use 非得

非得 is a similar grammar pattern. It can be translated as "must" or "have to". Usually it appears in the grammar structure 非得...不可/不行/不成, which expresses something is supposed to be a certain way and not change, or that something will certainly happen.

Many of you are probably familiar with the grammar structure 非...不可, which is the simplified form of this structure.

Statement, + 非得 + Action + 不可/不行/不成

Examples

• 现在 是 紧急 情况，医生 非得 马上 开 刀 不可。
• 要是 你 想要 当作 很好 的 管理员，你 非得 耐心 不成！
• 在 中国 传统 的 孝敬 文化 上，子女 非得 服从 长辈 不可。

非得 can also be used in short statements on its own, though this simple grammar pattern is used this way less often. For example:

• 时间 到 了，我 非得 走。

Sources and further reading

NEEDS SOURCES!

HSK6