v.
to be supposed to; should; ought to
应该
to be supposed to; should; ought to
Auxiliary verb meaning 'should', 'ought to', or 'supposed to' (应 should + 该 ought); expresses reasonable expectation or duty.
Common Usage & Traps
- 应该去 — should go
- 不应该 — shouldn't
- 应该没事 — should be fine
- 应该到了 — should have arrived by now
- 应该的 — you're welcome / it's what I should do
- 应该走了 — should get going now
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应该不去不应该去For 'shouldn't go,' put 不 before 应该. 应该不去 sounds like a guess that someone probably won't go.
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应该应该的As a reply to 谢谢, 应该 alone sounds unfinished. 应该的 is the natural polite phrase.
Does 应该 mean the same thing as 必须?
No. 应该 gives advice or expectation; 必须 is a hard must.
If a coworker says 你应该早点说, they mean you should have spoken earlier. If your boss says 你必须早点说, that is an order with real consequences. Use 应该 for polite suggestions, social expectations, and friendly recommendations. Use 必须 when there is no choice or you are quoting a strict rule.
“前天有个朋友告诉我，要想了解老北京的文化，应该去老茶馆喝一次“大碗儿茶”。” (The day before yesterday, a friend told me that if you want to understand old Beijing culture, you should go to a traditional teahouse and try 'big bowl tea' at least once.)
“前天有个朋友告诉我，要想了解老北京的文化，应该去老茶馆喝一次“大碗儿茶”。” (The day before yesterday, a friend told me that if you want to understand old Beijing culture, you should go to a traditional teahouse and try 'big bowl tea' at least once.)
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Advice | 你应该多喝水 (You should drink more water) | 你必须多喝水 if you just mean advice |
| Hard rule | 你必须戴口罩 (You must wear a mask) | 你应该戴口罩 for a legal requirement |
| Tone | Soft nudge | Bossy order |
How do you say 'you shouldn't go' with 应该?
Put 不 before 应该: 你不应该去.
English puts 'not' on the helper word, and Chinese does the same here. 你不应该去 means you should not go. If you say 你应该不去, it usually sounds like 'you probably won't go,' not a warning. For advice against an action, keep 不 in front of 应该.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Advice against | 你不应该去 | 你应该不去 for 'you shouldn't go' |
| Meaning change | 你应该不去 = you probably won't go | Using 应该不去 as a warning |
| Real life | 你不应该熬夜 (You shouldn't stay up late) | 你应该不熬夜 (sounds like a guess about habit) |
Can 应该 mean 'probably' instead of 'should'?
Yes. 应该 can mark a confident guess, like 'should be' in English.
When you have good reason to expect something, 应该 signals probability. 他应该到了 means he should have arrived by now. 他应该在家 means he is probably home. 可能 means maybe, which is weaker and less certain. So 应该 is not only for advice.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Confidence | 他应该到了 (He should have arrived) | 他可能到了 (He might have arrived, weaker) |
| Guess | 他应该知道 (He probably knows) | 他应该可能知道 (double guess, wrong) |
| Real life | 外卖应该到了 (Delivery should be here) | 外卖可能到了 when you are sure |
Can you reply 应该 when someone says 谢谢?
Add 的: 应该的 is the natural reply, not 应该.
应该 alone sounds like you are about to say more. 应该的 means 'it's what I should do,' and it works as a modest 'you're welcome.' If a friend thanks you for helping move a couch, 应该的 sounds warm and normal. Saying just 应该 feels clipped and slightly confused.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Reply to thanks | 应该的 | 应该 |
| Tone | Modest and complete | Sounds unfinished |
| Real life | 谢谢！—应该的。 | 谢谢！—应该。 |
Why do people say 我们应该走了 instead of 我们应该走?
了 makes the advice urgent: it's time to go now.
应该走 means people should go in general, or we should go at some point. 我们应该走了 means the moment has arrived and we should leave now. The 了 marks a change into a new situation. Use it when you are actually standing up to leave.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Timing | 我们应该走了 = time to leave now | 我们应该走 = we should go (general) |
| Change | 了 marks the new situation | Omitting 了 in a 'let's go' moment |
| Real life | 太晚了，我们应该走了 | 太晚了，我们应该走 (sounds like a rule) |
Featured in Story Deep Dive
Follow how this word unfolds across the narrative arc of this graded story.
Ever wondered where old Beijing's tea-drinking culture has gone? Follow a visitor discovering why locals now avoid famous tea houses—and practice expressing surprise and comparisons in Chinese along the way.
- Scene #1
前天有个朋友告诉我，要想了解老北京的文化， 应该 去老茶馆喝一次"大碗儿茶"。
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