Using "Hay que"

Question

I've seen 'hay que' often, and I can find translations for it. Most of these are shady or unclear, and I haven't seen a solid translation yet.

What are the rules to use 'hay que', and how does one use it?

Answer 1

I was taught it means "one must"

Por ejemplo:

Hay que prestar atención en clase para sacar buenas notas.

One must pay attention in class in order to get good grades.

Answer 2

tener que

hay que

deber

All imply obligations of varying degree, and I have read different viewpoints of which is which.

Usually the translations are to have to, must, ought to/should, but which is which may be arbitrary.

discussion of same

Answer 3

Both of these answers help a lot

One last question, does 'hay que' signal more of an obligation than 'tener que'?

I'm not positive, but to me "tener que" seems like it signals more obligation - arh1, Apr 11, 2011

"tener que" seems more personal to me because you can conjugate it for different people, like that specific person "has to" do something, while "hay que" is more general about what someone (anyone) has to do in a given circumstance. - arh1, Apr 11, 2011