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不得

bùdé

  1. modal verb must not; may not (formal, in rules and notices)

    考试期间不得使用手机。

    Kǎoshì qījiān bùdé shǐyòng shǒujī.

    Use of mobile phones is prohibited during the exam.

  2. modal verb 不得不: to have no choice but to

    他不得不做两份工作来供养子女。

    Tā bùdébù zuò liǎng fèn gōngzuò lái gōngyǎng zǐnǚ.

    He has no choice but to work two jobs to support his children.

The full ChinesePath dictionary entry for 不得 includes audio for every reading and example sentence, more example sentences, collocations, synonyms and links to the course units where it is taught.

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