Level 5 · Advanced
Absolutely must: 非…不可
Subj. + 非 + Verb Phrase + 不可
非…不可 (fēi…bùkě) is a double negative that adds up to an emphatic must: 这部电影我非看不可 "I absolutely have to see this movie" — literally "if I don't see it, that won't do."
It covers three flavors: necessity (医生说他非住院不可), stubborn insistence (孩子非要买那个玩具不可), and certainty about the future. Colloquially 不可 can become 不行 or 不成, and with 非要 the ending sometimes drops off entirely.
Examples
这部电影我非看不可。
這部電影我非看不可。
zhè bù diàn yǐng wǒ fēi kàn bù kě
I simply must see this movie.
医生说他非住院不可。
醫生說他非住院不可。
yī shēng shuō tā fēi zhù yuàn bù kě
The doctor says he absolutely has to be hospitalized.
这件事非你去办不可。
這件事非你去辦不可。
zhè jiàn shì fēi nǐ qù bàn bù kě
You're the only one who can handle this — it has to be you.
孩子非要买那个玩具不可。
孩子非要買那個玩具不可。
hái zi fēi yào mǎi nà ge wán jù bù kě
The kid insists on buying that toy, no matter what.
Common mistakes
✗ 我非看这部电影。
✓ 我非看这部电影不可。
In the full pattern, 非 needs its closing 不可 (or 不行/不成) to complete the "must".
Related grammar points
Practice this pattern in graded stories like Signing the Contract (Part 5) inside the Literate Chinese app.
