HSK 3 · Verbs

应该 yīnggāi “should” in Chinese

Traditional 應該

What 应该 means

  1. should
  2. ought to
  3. must

How to say 应该

  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale应yīng1st tone, high and level
  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale该gāi1st tone, high and level

应该 in a sentence

  1. 我应该打扫我的房间。

    Wǒ yīnggāi dǎsǎo wǒ de fángjiān.

    I should clean my room.

    Sentence #512911 from Tatoeba

  2. 你应该带护照去银行。

    Nǐ yīnggāi dài hùzhào qù yínháng.

    You should take your passport to the bank.

    Sentence #5907512 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 我觉得你应该多休息一会儿。

    Wǒ juéde nǐ yīnggāi duō xiūxi yíhuìr.

    I think you should rest a bit more.

    Sentence #8761480 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 应该 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 应 (yīng) with each of its parts in a different colour
应yīngto agree
  • 广shelter · guǎng
  • ⺍small form of 小 · xiǎo
  • 一one · yī
The character 该 (gāi) with each of its parts in a different colour
该gāishould
  • 讠speech form of 言 · yánMeaning part
  • 亥part of the characterSound part

How to write 应该

应 7 strokes · 该 8 strokes

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

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

Words related to 应该

Words with 应

适应shìyìng · to adapt应聘yìngpìn · to apply for a job答应dāying · to agree反应fǎnyìng · to react应付yìngfu · to deal with应用yìngyòng · to put to use响应xiǎngyìng · to respond to应邀yìngyāo · at someone’s invitation相应xiāngyìng · corresponding应酬yìngchou · to socialise

Words with 该

该gāi · should活该huógāi · serves (someone) right

More words: Thinking & Talking

小心xiǎoxīn · be careful需要xūyào · to need选择xuǎnzé · select要求yāoqiú · to request影响yǐngxiǎng · influence愿意yuànyì · be willing着急zháojí · to worry注意zhùyì · pay attention to

FAQs

应该 (yīnggāi) means “should” or “ought to”. It is an HSK 3 word.
Say it yīnggāi: yīng with a 1st tone, then gāi with a 1st tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 应该 is written 應該. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type yinggai with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 应该 from the suggestions. Typing yinggai into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
应该 is an HSK 3 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

Turn words into conversations

A dictionary gives you the words. A native teacher shows you how to use them. Start with a free 30-minute intro call.

Book a free intro call

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 from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.