HSK 5 · Function Words

何必 hébì “there is no need” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 何必 means

  1. there is no need
  2. why should

How to say 何必

  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale何hé2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale必bì4th tone, falling

何必 in a sentence

  1. 这么近，何必打车呢？

    Zhème jìn, hébì dǎchē ne?

    It’s so close, so why bother getting a taxi?

    Sentence by WillyChina

  2. 一点小事，何必生气？

    Yìdiǎn xiǎoshì, hébì shēngqì?

    It’s only a small thing, so why get angry?

    Sentence by WillyChina

How 何必 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 何 (hé) with each of its parts in a different colour
何héwhat
  • 亻person form of 人 · rén
  • 可may · kě
The character 必 (bì) with each of its parts in a different colour
必bìcertainly
  • 心heart · xīn
  • 丿slash · piě

How to write 何必

何 7 strokes · 必 5 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

何必 (hébì) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 何必 (hébì). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 何必

Words with 何

任何rènhé · any何况hékuàng · let alone如何rúhé · how

Words with 必

必须bìxū · must必要bìyào · necessary必然bìrán · inevitable未必wèibì · not necessarily势必shìbì · bound to务必wùbì · must

More words: Function Words & Grammar

根gēn · root怪不得guàibude · no wonder!果然guǒrán · really哈hā · ha! (laughter)何况hékuàng · let alone或许huòxǔ · perhaps忽然hūrán · suddenly基本jīběn · basic

FAQs

何必 (hébì) means “there is no need” or “why should”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it hébì: hé with a 2nd tone, then bì with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 何必 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type hebi with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 何必 from the suggestions. Typing hebi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
何必 is an HSK 5 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences written by WillyChina. Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.