得 děi - is it really used that much?

[absurd]

Just came back from China and it struck me how little I heard this compared to words like 必须 and 须要. They use 得 all the time in New Practical Chinese Reader and Wenlin lists it as the colloquial variant for "must", so I find it pretty weird that I didn't really hear anyone say it. Are NPCR dead wrong or is it me?

I was in Beijing, Xinjiang and Gansu by the way!

[muyongshi]

I'd say it's used about equally with 必须 and maybe even something like 60/40.

[imron]

It's used pretty frequently.

[gougou]

I've also heard it quite frequently; don't seem to hear 必须 a lot, though. I think they have a slightly different connotation, similar to the difference in English between "must" (=必须)and "gotta" (=得).

There's also 应该，which can be used in a lot of the same situations.

[in_lab]

For this type of question, I think the answer varies a lot by region. I hear 必須要 all the time, dei3 not so much, and 必須 without 要 not so much, but all are common, I think.

[timkunming]

It's uncommonly used here in Yunnan. At least, among my circle of friends and the area I live in, I rarely hear it. However, they often use 应该 or 必须要 but they may be more colloquial than anything.

[Don_Horhe]

A few days ago I overheard a group of girls talking and one of them said 你必须得(dei)

[HashiriKata]

Seems pretty common on the internet:

必须得改变思想.

我必须得承受这些.

I wonder what native speakers on this forum think about this (必须 and 得 used together)

[fengyixiao]

It's used by the people from yellow river to Liaoning province.

It's dialect.

逮dai3 also is pronounced as dei3 very common in the area from yellow river to Liaoning province.

But in the standard Pinyin,you can't find it.

It's dialect.

For example,

1、得劲儿dei3jiner,is a popular word in Henan province. There is a football fans group of HenanJianye called them "得劲儿球迷协会"。

2、逮dei3(回来） is also very common.

You can listen to the Pingshu(评书) 封神演义 telling by 袁阔成. He always pronounces 逮 as dei3.

[imron]

I'm not a native speaker but 必须得 is quite common, at least in and around Beijing and Hebei.

[fengyixiao]

Seems pretty common on the internet:

必须得改变思想.

我必须得承受这些.

I wonder what native speakers on this forum think about this (必须 and 得 used together)

They can used together,but not must.

必须=must,

得=should or need

They are usde together just to emphasize。

Edited September 28, 2009 at 06:59 AM by fengyixiao