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
Sources and further reading
Books
- Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 164 - 165) →buy
