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何必

hé bì
HSK 2.0 Level 5 HSK 3.0 Level 7 Adverb Uncommon

Definitions

  1. 1. there is no need
  2. 2. why should

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Word relationships

Related words

1 item
何苦
hé kǔ

why bother?

rhetorical question meaning 'why bother' or 'why go to the trouble'

Synonyms

1 item
不必
bù bì

need not

used to express that something is unnecessary

Usage notes

Collocations

Often used in rhetorical questions like 何必……呢? to mean 'why must...?' implying there's no need.

Grammar

Guides that feature 何必

Jump into a full guide with fill-in-the-blank drills. Clicking will load the page and move you to the top.

2 guides
HSK 2.0 Level 6+ HSK 3.0 Level 7–9+ 6 min
何必, 何尝, 莫非 and 难怪 for Rhetorical Questions and “No Wonder”

Learn the mood adverbs that make rhetorical questions (何必, 何苦, 何不, 何尝), guesses (莫非) and sudden realisations (难怪, 怪不得).

Reading: hé bì Open guide
HSK 2.0 Level 6+ HSK 3.0 Level 7–9+ 6 min
犯不着 and 犯得着 for “It’s Not Worth It”

Use 犯不着 to say something isn’t worth doing, and 犯得着…吗？ to ask the same thing as a rhetorical question.

Reading: hé bì Open guide

Example Sentences

1 shown
何必 这么着急呢？
Why be in such a hurry?

AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Words Containing 何必

既有今日何必当初
jì yǒu jīn rì hé bì dāng chū

see 早知今日何必當初|早知今日何必当初[zǎo zhī jīn rì hé bì dāng chū]

早知今日何必当初
zǎo zhī jīn rì hé bì dāng chū

if I (you, she, he...) had known it would come to this, I (you, she, he...) would not have acted thus (idiom)

有宝何必人前夸
yǒu bǎo hé bì rén qián kuā

There is no need to boast about one's treasures. (idiom)

Child Words of 何必

必
bì

certainly

何
hé

what