How to write 的 (de, “of”)
的, an HSK 1 character, is read de for “of”, and also dì (“bull's-eye”) and dí (“really and truly”). As a left-right character it splits into 白 (“white”, the radical), strokes 1–5; 勺 (“spoon”), strokes 6–8, written the left part first. On its own it is an HSK 1 word; it also forms 有的 (“some”), 的话 (“if”) and 别的 (“else”). Japanese reads it teki, “bull's eye”.
- Pinyin
- de, dì, dí, dī
- Strokes
- 8
- HSK
- 1
- Radical
- 白 (“white”)
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- Dot ㇔top leftdown and right → down and left
- Vertical ㇑top leftdownwards
- Horizontal-turn ㇕leftrightwards → downwards
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Horizontal ㇐bottom leftrightwards
- Left-falling stroke ㇒topdown and left
- Horizontal-turn-hook ㇆toprightwards → downwards
- Dot ㇔centerdown and right
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| de neutral tone | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to form a nominal expression, as in 皮革的 (pígéde) "one made of leather" or 跑堂儿的 (pǎotángrde) "a waiter (literally, one who runs back and forth in a restaurant)" or 新的 (xīnde) "new one") | — | 有的 的话 别的 似的 |
| dì fourth tone | (bound form) bull's-eye; target | — | 目的 目的地 有的放矢 中的 |
| dí second tone | really and truly | — | 的确 |
| dī first tone | (bound form) a taxi; a cab (abbr. for 的士 (dīshì)) | — | — |
- HSK 2025 syllabus
- level 1
- 2021 standard
- level 1
- HSK 2.0
- in a level 1 word
- Words with it
- 79 in CC-CEDICT
Words with 的
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle) HSK 1 |
| 有的 | yǒude | (there are) some (who are...); some (exist) HSK 1 |
| 的话 的話 | dehuà | if (coming after a conditional clause) HSK 3 |
| 别的 別的 | biéde | else; other HSK 3 |
| 目的 | mùdì | purpose; aim HSK 4 |
| 目的地 | mùdìdì | destination (location) HSK 4 |
| 的确 的確 | díquè | really; indeed HSK 5 |
| 似的 | shìde | seems as if; rather like HSK 5 |
| 有的放矢 | yǒudì-fàngshǐ | lit. to have a target in mind when shooting one's arrows (idiom)… HSK 7-9 |
| 中的 | zhòngdì | to hit the target; to hit the nail on the head |
HSK words first (CC-CEDICT).
Practice sheet
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Keep going
HSK 1, in list order: