Chinese word

到

Pronunciation

Pinyindào

Meaning

  • verbarrive

Example

飞机九点到了。fēi jī jiú diǎn dào le

The plane arrived at nine.

Illustration for 到 (arrive)

More examples

他五点才到学校。tā wú diǎn cái dào xué xiào

He did not arrive at school until five.

Core concept

Something gets all the way to a set point, whether that point is a destination, a deadline, a level, or an outcome.

Common phrases

  • 到家dào jiā

    arrive home

  • 到学校dào xué xiào

    arrive at school

  • 到商店dào shāng diàn

    arrive at the store

Similar words

来lái: Move toward the speaker or another stated reference point.
去qù: Move away from the speaker or another stated reference point.
到达dào dá: Reach a destination and arrive there, emphasizing completion of the journey.
抵达dǐ dá: Reach a destination in a formal style, especially for transport, cargo, or scheduled arrivals.

Definition in Chinese

表示达到某一程度或结果，也可表示达到某个地点或时间。biǎo shì dá dào mǒu yì chéng dù huò jié guǒ yě kě biǎo shì dá dào mǒu gè dì diǎn huò shí jiān

Word origin

到 (dào, "reach") combines 至 (zhì, "arrive") as its meaning component with 刀 (dāo, "knife") as its sound component, reflecting the older idea of reaching a destination.

Usage tips

  • After an action verb, 到 (dào, "reach") can show that the action reaches its intended result, not merely that the action happens.

Other meanings

  • untilpreposition
  • reachverb
  • topreposition

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word