应该 (yīnggāi) means "should" or "ought to" in Mandarin. You place it between a subject and a verb to tell someone what they should do — give advice, make a recommendation, or suggest a course of action.
The structure is simple: Subject + 应该 (yīnggāi) + Verb. For example:
你应该多喝水 (nǐ yīnggāi duō hē shuǐ) — "You should drink more water."
Here, 你 is the subject, 应该 carries the meaning "should," and 多喝水 is what the person ought to do. To say someone shouldn't do something, put 不 before 应该: 不应该 (bù yīnggāi). This pattern lets you suggest what a friend should or shouldn't do — telling someone they should rest, drink more water, or see a doctor.
This is a live conversation lesson where you talk out loud with AI teacher Mei Lin in real time — voice, not typing. Over roughly 10 minutes, you'll practice using 应该 to give advice in natural back-and-forth conversation. Mei Lin corrects your grammar and pronunciation in the flow of dialogue and adapts to your level, so you get immediate feedback on whether you're placing 应该 correctly and pronouncing it right.
Each live conversation lesson targets one specific grammar pattern, so you stay focused on a single structure until it feels automatic. This lesson sits among other HSK 2 lessons that each tackle one grammar point at a time. You can also pair your speaking practice with the free printable Chinese worksheet generator to reinforce characters by hand.
When you're ready for more, try the HSK 2 live lesson "Giving Reasons" (因为...所以) or "Doing Things Together" (跟...一起) to keep building your conversational grammar. The first lesson is free to start.
应该 (yīnggāi) means "should" or "ought to." You use it to give advice or express what someone ought to do, like 你应该多喝水 (nǐ yīnggāi duō hē shuǐ) — "You should drink more water." The structure is Subject + 应该 + Verb, and you add 不 before 应该 to make it negative: shouldn't.
Put 不 before 应该 (yīnggāi) to form the negative: 不应该 (bù yīnggāi), meaning "shouldn't." This lesson on Giving Advice practices both the positive and negative forms in live conversation with Mei Lin, so you learn to suggest what a friend should or shouldn't do — whether that's resting, drinking water, or seeing a doctor.
Each live conversation lesson targets one grammar pattern and takes roughly 10 minutes. In this lesson, you focus on 应该 (yīnggāi) — Should / Ought To — by talking out loud with AI teacher Mei Lin. She corrects your grammar and pronunciation in the flow of conversation and adapts to your level.