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 一定要 or 非要. Most time 非要 appears with a self-willed emotional color while一定要 is just a expression of "absolutely wanting " or "absolutely insist" without any emotional color.

Structure

Just use 非要 like the auxiliary verb . Often use it coupled with 不可.

Subj. + 非要 + Verb (+ 不可)

Examples

  • 我 不 让 他 喝 那么 多,他 非要 喝 。I don't want him to drink so much, but he had to.
  • 我 不 想 说,可是 她 非要 让 我 说 不可I didn't want to tell, but she made me tell.
  • 他 自己 可以 解决 这 个 问题,干嘛 非要 你 去 帮 他 ?He can solve this problem by himself. Why would you have to help him?
  • 情人节 那天,我 女朋友 非要 让 我 送 她 玫瑰花 不可My girlfriend had to ask me to give her roses on Valentine's Day.

See also

Sources and further reading

HSK6