# Buộc phải: be forced to in Vietnamese (B2)

> Buộc phải means "be forced to, have no choice but to". It goes before the verb, like phải: Nhiều hộ dân buộc phải sơ tán (many households were forced to…

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/buoc-phai/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**be forced to**

Pattern: `[subject] + buộc phải + [verb]`

Level: B2 (our estimate) · Register: formal

Typed without accents: buoc phai

*Buộc phải* means "be forced to, have no choice but to". It goes before the verb, like *phải*: *Nhiều hộ dân buộc phải sơ tán* (many households were forced to evacuate). *Buộc* on its own means "tie" or "compel", so the phrase carries the sense that circumstances left no other way.

You'll meet it in news reports and analysis, often with the cause given first: *Do mưa lớn, chuyến bay buộc phải hạ cánh xuống Đà Nẵng* (because of heavy rain, the flight had to land in Đà Nẵng). Companies *buộc phải cắt giảm nhân sự* (are forced to cut staff); authorities *buộc phải tạm dừng* a project (are forced to suspend it).

Compare *phải*, the everyday "must, have to", which covers rules, duties and plans: *Mai em phải đi làm.* *Buộc phải* adds pressure from outside, something the person didn't choose. In speech, people say *phải* or *đành phải* (had to, reluctantly): *Hết xe buýt nên tôi đành phải đi bộ.*

Official penalty notices use *buộc* with the same idea, seen from the side of the authority: *bị phạt tiền và buộc tháo dỡ công trình* (fined and ordered to demolish the building). There *buộc* means "ordered to".

## Examples

- Do triều cường dâng cao, nhiều hộ dân ven sông buộc phải di dời tài sản. — With the high tide rising, many riverside households were forced to move their belongings.
- Chuyến bay buộc phải hạ cánh khẩn cấp vì một hành khách bị đột quỵ. — The flight was forced to make an emergency landing because a passenger had a stroke.
- Chi phí tăng cao khiến nhiều doanh nghiệp nhỏ buộc phải cắt giảm nhân sự. — Rising costs have forced many small businesses to cut staff.
- Cơ sở sản xuất bị phạt 30 triệu đồng và buộc phải tiêu hủy toàn bộ số hàng giả. — The workshop was fined 30 million đồng and ordered to destroy all the counterfeit goods.

## Compare

- [Must, have to: phải + verb](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/phai-must/): must

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