How to use ‘应该’ in Chinese

‍‍‍‍‍‍应该‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍ (yīnggāi) translates to the English word "should," and is an essential word to know for your conversational Chinese.

"应该"翻译成英语是"should"，对你的交际汉语来说是必备词汇。

Basic Usage

The auxiliary verb 应该 (yīnggāi) is the most common way to express "should" in Chinese. The structure is:

助动词"应该"是中文里表达"should"的最常见的方式。结构是：

Subj. + 应该 + Verb + Obj.

Examples

我应该给你多少钱？

wǒ yīnggāi gěi nǐ duōshǎo qián?

How much money should I give you?

感冒的时候应该喝热水。

gǎnmào de shíhou yīnggāi hē rèshuǐ.

You should drink hot water when you have a cold.

明天你应该八点半来公司。

míngtiān nǐ yīnggāi bādiǎn bàn lái gōngsī.

You should come to the office tomorrow at 8:30.

他太累了，应该回家休息。

tā tài lèi le, yīnggāi huíjiā xiūxi.

He's too tired. He should go home and rest.

Making It Negative

Add the negative adverb 不 (bù) before 应该 (yīnggāi) to negate the structure.

在"应该"之前加上否定副词"不"可以否定整个结构。

Subj. + 不 + 应该 + Verb + Obj.

Examples

你不应该告诉他。

nǐ bù yīnggāi gàosu tā.

You should not tell him.

他不应该喝那么多酒。

tā bù yīnggāi hē nàme duō jiǔ.

He should not drink so much.

你们不应该拿别人的东西。

nǐmen bù yīnggāi ná biérén de dōngxi.

You should not take other people's stuff.

你们不应该这么晚回家。

nǐmen bù yīnggāi zhème wǎn huíjiā.

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‍‍You shouldn't come home so late.‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

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