---
title: "非…不可 in Chinese Grammar: Must …, no matter what, With Examples"
description: "非…不可: must …, no matter what. 非 X 不可: X is absolutely required or will certainly happen. 2 real lines from stories, each word explained."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/fei-bukeke"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[Chinese grammar](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar)

# 非…不可

Must …, no matter what

非 X 不可: X is absolutely required or will certainly happen.

## In stories

那天风特别大，我妈**非让我戴上围巾不可**。”

[1985年的信 · The letter from grandpa: a Chinese short story](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/the-letter-from-grandpa-chinese-short-story#library-word-491-500) HSK 5

我老伴在家睡得好好的，她要是听见你这么说，**非骂你不可**。”

[两个饭团 · The old man who buys two rice balls](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/the-old-man-who-buys-two-rice-balls#library-word-447-452) HSK 5

[Read 1985年的信](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/the-letter-from-grandpa-chinese-short-story#library-word-491-500)

## More patterns

- [verb + 不/得 + result (potential) cannot / can (manage to) …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/v-bu-c)
- [再也 + 不/没 never again; not any more](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/zaiye-bu)
- [谁 + 也/都 + (V不C) no one / nothing: …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/shei-ye-neg-v)
- [verb + 不了/得了 cannot …; can …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/v-bu-liao)
- [一 + measure word (+ noun) + 也/都 + 不/没 not a single …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/yi-cl-ye-bu)
- [一点(儿) + 也/都 + 不/没 not … at all](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/yidian-ye-neg)

## What does 非…不可 mean in Chinese?

Must …, no matter what. 非 X 不可: X is absolutely required or will certainly happen.

## How common is 非…不可?

It comes up in 2 readings of the 392 stories and articles in our free Library.

## Does it correct my mistakes?

No. It shows which patterns a text uses and what each one does; it doesn’t mark errors. Paste a sentence you wrote to see whether it uses the pattern you meant.

## More free tools

- [Chinese dictionary](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-dictionary)
- [Measure words](https://mandarinthewild.com/measure-words)
- [How hard is this text?](https://mandarinthewild.com/text-level)
- [Free Chinese stories](https://mandarinthewild.com/library)

Patterns found by our own parser; lines from our free Library.