Where 到 comes from
arrive
- Meaning part
- 至 (“until”)
- Sound part
- 刂 (“knife”)
How to write 到 (dào, “to reach”)
到 (dào), an HSK 1 character, means “to reach”, “to leave for” and “to”. It pairs a meaning part, 至 (“until”), with a sound part, 刂 (“knife”). On its own it is an HSK 1 word; it also forms 得到 (“to get”), 到处 (“everywhere”) and 受到 (“to receive”). Japanese reads it tou, “arrival”, as a JLPT N3 kanji.
- Pinyin
- dào
- Strokes
- 8
- HSK
- 1
- Radical
- 刂 (“knife”)
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
As a left-right character it splits into 至 (“until”), strokes 1–6; 刂 (“knife”, the radical), strokes 7–8, written the left part first.
- Horizontal ㇐top leftrightwards
- Left-falling-turn ㇜top leftdown and left → rightwards
- Dot ㇔topdown and right
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Vertical ㇑leftdownwards
- Rising stroke ㇀bottom leftrightwards
- Vertical ㇑topdownwards
- Vertical hook ㇚top rightdownwards → leftwards
Japanese and Chinese
Japanese and Chinese draw all 8 strokes in the same order and direction, by our stroke-by-stroke comparison.
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Pinyin and meaning
| Pinyin | Meanings | Traditional | In words |
|---|---|---|---|
| dào fourth tone | to reach; to arrive; to leave for; to go to; to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point); (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point); considerate; thoughtful; thorough | — | 得到 到处 受到 感到 |
- HSK 2025 syllabus
- level 1
- 2021 standard
- level 1
- HSK 2.0
- in a level 2 word
- Words with it
- 147 in CC-CEDICT
Words with 到
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 到 | dào | to reach; to arrive HSK 1 |
| 得到 | dédào | to get; to obtain HSK 3 |
| 到处 到處 | dàochù | everywhere HSK 3 |
| 受到 | shòudào | to receive (praise, an education, punishment etc); to be ...ed… HSK 3 |
| 感到 | gǎndào | to feel; to sense HSK 3 |
| 收到 | shōudào | to receive HSK 3 |
| 直到 | zhídào | until HSK 3 |
| 迟到 遲到 | chídào | to arrive late HSK 3 |
| 遇到 | yùdào | to meet; to run into HSK 3 |
| 到来 到來 | dàolái | to arrive; arrival HSK 4 |
HSK words first (CC-CEDICT).
Practice sheet
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HSK 1, in list order: