不得不
HSK 4 (exam 2025)HSK 3 (2021)Old HSK 4
不得不 (bùdébù) · to have to
不得不 (bùdébù) means “to have to; have no choice but to”. It is written with 2 characters: 不 (not) + 得 (to get). It is an HSK 4 word in the current exam syllabus (2025).
How 不得不 is built
The characters
不 bù · not
What 不 is made of
- 一 — horizontal stroke
Origin hint: A bird flying toward the sky 一 (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
得 dé · to get
What 得 is made of
- 彳chì — to step with the left foot
- 丨 — vertical stroke
- 旦dàn — dawn
- 日rì — sun; day
- 口kǒu — mouth
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 日rì — sun; day
- 寸cùn — inch
Origin hint: A hand 寸 grabbing a shell 旦 (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
Example sentences
下雨了，我不得不在家。Xià yǔ le, wǒ bùdébù zài jiā.It's raining, so I have to stay home.
你不得不早起吗？Nǐ bùdébù zǎo qǐ ma?Do you have to get up early?
Questions about 不得不
What does 不得不 mean?
不得不 (bùdébù) means “to have to; have no choice but to”.
How do you pronounce 不得不?
不得不 is pronounced bùdébù.
Which HSK level is 不得不?
不得不 is in HSK 4 (exam 2025) and HSK 3 (2021) and Old HSK 4.
Related words
- 不大bùdànot very
- 不对bùduìwrong
- 不客气bùkèqiyou are welcome
- 不用bùyòngno need
- 对不起duìbuqǐsorry
- 是不是shìbushìis it or not
- 不错bùcuònot bad
- 不但bùdànnot only (... but also ...)
- 不够bùgòunot enough
- 不过bùguòbut
Learn 不得不 with its group
It is part of HSK 3 (2021) · Group 62: a short group with quick checks and spaced repeats.