该 (gāi): should
该 (gāi) is a Chinese character meaning “should.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 讠 (semantic) and 亥 (phonetic). It ranks #319 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 该 speech. Its radical form 讠 (speech) appears in many related characters such as 认 (rèn, to recognize, to admit), 记 (jì, to remember, to record), 识 (shí, to know, knowledge).
Definitions
- should
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 该 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 该
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 该死verb | gāi sǐ | Damn it! |
| 活该verb | huó gāi | (coll.) serve sb right |
| 不该verb | bù gāi | should not |
| 应该的phrase | yīng gāi de | (polite response) you're welcome |
| 该当verb | gāi dāng | should |
| 该应 | gāi yīng | should |
| 合该verb | hé gāi | ought to |
| 该亚 | gāi yà | Gaea, the Earth Goddess and mother of the Titans |
| 罪该万死 | zuì gāi wàn sǐ | (idiom) deserving the severest punishment |
| 撒都该人noun | sā dū gāi rén | Sadducees |
| 亚该亚 | yà gāi yà | Achaia |
| 哈该书proper-noun | hā gāi shū | Book of Haggai |
| 米该亚proper-noun | mǐ gāi yà | Micah |
| 该博 | gāi bó | erudite |
| 该隐proper-noun | gāi yǐn | Cain (name) |
该 appears in 16 compound words: 38 as the first character, 25 as the last, and 38 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 该 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (1)
Example Sentences
我们应该按时完成任务，不能拖延到最后一刻。
Wǒmen yīnggāi ànshí wánchéng rènwu, bùnéng tuōyán dào zuìhòu yí kè.
We should complete tasks on time and not delay until the last minute.
习近平的两会之喻丨城市管理应该像绣花一样精细
xí jìn píng de liǎng huì zhī yù 丨 chéng shì guǎn lǐ yīng gāi xiàng xiù huā yī yàng jīng xì
Xi Jinping's metaphor for the two sessions丨Urban management should be as fine as embroidery
服务质量参差不齐,上门喂养宠物服务该如何规范
fú wù zhì liàng cān chā bù qí , shàng mén wéi yǎng chǒng wù fú wù gāi rú hé guī fàn
The quality of service is uneven, and how to standardize door-to-door pet feeding services
俄罗斯1905年出生女子或成最长寿,该女子的日常习惯引发关注
é luó sī nián chū shēng nǚ zǐ huò chéng zuì cháng shòu , gāi nǚ zǐ de rì cháng xí guàn yǐn fā guān zhù
A woman born in 1905 in Russia may be the longest-lived, and her daily habits have attracted attention
过年替山猪尽孝 逸祥:只是做我该做的事
guò nián tì shān zhū jǐn xiào yì xiáng zhī shì zuò wǒ gāi zuò de shì
Filial piety for the wild boar during the New Year Yixiang: Just do what I have to do
过完年后该不该跳槽?先问自己五个“关键问题”
guò wán nián hòu gāi bù gāi tiào cáo ? xiān wèn zì jǐ wǔ gè guān jiàn wèn tí
Should You Change Jobs After the New Year? Ask Yourself These Five "Crucial Questions" First
“我该做什么呢？”我自言自语道。
"Wǒ gāi zuò shénme ne?" wǒ zìyánzìyǔ dào.
"What shall I do?" I said to myself.
你觉得对此该做什么？
Nǐ juéde duì cǐ gāi zuò shénme?
What do you think should be done about it?
有什么事是我该做的吗？
Yǒu shénme shì shì wǒ gāi zuò de ma?
Is there anything I must do?
在这种情况下，他们该做什么？
Zài zhèzhǒng qíngkuàng xià, tāmen gāi zuò shénme?
What should they do in this situation?
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 讠 (speech) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 该 (gāi) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 该 and 孩?
How many strokes does 该 have?
What is the radical of 该?
What are the components of 该?
What are common words containing 该?
What characters sound the same as 该 (gāi)?
Is 该 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 该 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.