应该

yīng gāi

Expressing "should" with "yinggai"

应该 is "should" — advice, obligation, or a confident expectation.

应该 / 该 + Verb

How it works

你应该工作 — you should be working. It gives advice without being an order.

It also expresses likelihood: 他应该到了 — he should have arrived by now.

该 is the short form and is common in speech: 我该走了. The negative 不应该 means "shouldn't".

Examples

  • nǐ yīng gāi gōng zuò

    你应该工作。

    You should be working.

  • tā yīng gāi dào le

    他应该到了。

    He should have arrived by now.

  • wǒ gāi zǒu le

    我该走了。

    I should get going.