<p>非得 itself is always negative. The sentence contains only 非得 <em>could</em> be positive when there is a 2nd negative (most likely 不可) being omitted. This omission is common in colloquial language but not as common in written language or formal speeches.</p>

<p>Reference #1 below is a semantic analysis for the pattern 非..不可. It mentions the fact that 不可 can be omitted.</p>

<p>Reference #2 contains a lot of literature/publication citations where the 2nd negative of a double negative sentence is omitted.</p>

<p>In reference #3 the writer thinks the omission is grammatically wrong and is due to people not treating the language seriously.</p>

<p>References:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.clra.edu.cn/showinfo.asp?id=841" rel="nofollow">1. “非……不可”句式在对外汉语教学中的研究</a></p>

<p><a href="http://archives.cnd.org/HXWK/author/XIONG-Youyu/kd091202-2.gb.html" rel="nofollow">2. 无可无不可的“不可”</a></p>

<p><a href="http://blog.ifeng.com/article/1127222.html?flag=1" rel="nofollow">3. 肯定、否定、否定之否定</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-02-01T03:04:02.283Z
Thanks! Does that mean I have to understand from context if the 不可 is omitted or not?
uncovery
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-02-01T03:54:24.623Z
@uncovery For 非得 you can safely assume it's meant to be double negative. For 非 (without 得) it depends on the context.
NS.X.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-02-01T02:46:55.740Z
2013-02-01T08:53:17.047Z
2013-02-01T08:53:17.047Z
NS.X.
<p>I understand that 非 and 不 have negative meanings by themselves, and 得 means "must"
by itself. So with a double negative, which means affirmative positive. So far so good.</p>

<p>But 非得 by itself is also "must". Single negative. Also positive. Why?</p>

<meaning><translation>
Is there a logical explanation why 非得不 and 非得 means must?
# Is there a logical explanation why 非得不 and 非得 means must?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-02-01)

I understand that 非 and 不 have negative meanings by themselves, and 得 means "must"
by itself. So with a double negative, which means affirmative positive. So far so good.

But 非得 by itself is also "must". Single negative. Also positive. Why?

**Tags:** meaning, translation


---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2013-02-01. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

非得 itself is always negative. The sentence contains only 非得 *could* be positive when there is a 2nd negative (most likely 不可) being omitted. This omission is common in colloquial language but not as common in written language or formal speeches.

Reference #1 below is a semantic analysis for the pattern 非..不可. It mentions the fact that 不可 can be omitted.

Reference #2 contains a lot of literature/publication citations where the 2nd negative of a double negative sentence is omitted.

In reference #3 the writer thinks the omission is grammatically wrong and is due to people not treating the language seriously.

References:

[1. “非……不可”句式在对外汉语教学中的研究](http://www.clra.edu.cn/showinfo.asp?id=841)

[2. 无可无不可的“不可”](http://archives.cnd.org/HXWK/author/XIONG-Youyu/kd091202-2.gb.html)

[3. 肯定、否定、否定之否定](http://blog.ifeng.com/article/1127222.html?flag=1)

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thanks! Does that mean I have to understand from context if the 不可 is omitted or not?  
> **username_1**: @username_0 For 非得 you can safely assume it's meant to be double negative. For 非 (without 得) it depends on the context.  

---

