Expressing "must" with "dei"

Normally when you see 得 it's a particle and is pronounced "de". However, it can also be an auxiliary verb. In this case it's pronounced děi and means "must". The structure is:

Subject + 得 + Verb + Object

Some examples:

• 我 得 回 家 了。
• 他 得 看病。
• 你 得 走了。

See also

• "Would like to" with xiang
• Wanting to do something with yao
• auxiliary verb

Sources and further reading

Books

• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (pp. 164 - 165)　→buy