到

dào

Pinyin
dào
Pinyin (Plain)
dao
Tone
4
Strokes
8
Radical
刀
Readings
dàodaoTone: 4to 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; thoroughOrder: 0Primary
Stroke Order Code
Speed
Stroke Order Data
["M 337 694 Q 398 707 463 717 Q 503 726 510 731 Q 520 738 515 748 Q 508 760 478 768 Q 453 774 346 743 Q 276 728 199 722 Q 162 716 187 698 Q 232 674 287 685 Q 288 686 291 685 L 337 694 Z", "M 343 476 Q 383 491 445 507 Q 454 510 461 513 C 489 523 477 541 448 535 Q 360 519 266 491 Q 257 487 254 490 Q 253 493 258 501 Q 355 619 375 638 Q 388 648 382 661 Q 376 673 337 694 C 311 709 291 715 291 685 Q 291 637 290 632 Q 236 524 165 478 Q 138 456 185 417 Q 195 407 210 417 Q 240 442 305 464 L 343 476 Z", "M 461 513 Q 489 465 501 462 Q 510 461 517 469 Q 524 479 526 507 Q 526 540 446 592 Q 434 599 428 599 Q 424 596 421 586 Q 421 576 438 551 Q 442 544 448 535 L 461 513 Z", "M 372 311 Q 475 335 483 341 Q 492 348 487 357 Q 480 367 452 375 Q 413 381 374 361 L 319 344 Q 313 344 308 342 Q 259 330 200 324 Q 166 318 191 302 Q 230 281 296 296 Q 306 299 320 300 L 372 311 Z", "M 367 202 Q 368 260 372 311 L 374 361 Q 380 445 375 450 Q 359 466 343 476 C 318 493 296 493 305 464 Q 315 436 319 352 Q 318 349 319 344 L 320 300 Q 320 255 322 190 C 323 160 366 172 367 202 Z", "M 322 190 Q 258 177 192 160 Q 170 154 133 156 Q 118 155 116 144 Q 113 129 123 120 Q 148 101 184 78 Q 194 74 209 83 Q 255 114 306 134 Q 384 162 460 192 Q 490 204 511 219 Q 526 226 527 236 Q 521 243 507 241 Q 440 222 367 202 L 322 190 Z", "M 573 596 Q 606 524 585 344 Q 576 308 607 273 Q 617 263 627 274 Q 643 302 644 392 Q 640 500 647 567 Q 653 589 633 601 Q 617 611 599 619 Q 586 623 577 618 Q 568 611 573 596 Z", "M 767 696 Q 771 662 772 134 Q 771 112 760 103 Q 753 100 679 117 Q 645 132 647 120 Q 648 113 669 96 Q 738 38 754 7 Q 773 -30 791 -32 Q 807 -33 823 4 Q 842 53 841 133 Q 802 575 843 725 Q 861 758 800 782 Q 763 801 743 793 Q 724 786 741 761 Q 765 733 767 696 Z"]
Meaning
“到” basically means “to arrive” or “to reach,” either a place, time, or goal (e.g., “go to Beijing,” “wait until 5 o’clock,” “finish the work”). It also appears after verbs to show that an action has achieved its result, similar to “manage to” or “successfully” in English.
Metadata
Locale: en
Cached At: 5/9/2026, 2:27:47 AM

Usage

In modern Chinese, 到 (dào) is most commonly used as a verb meaning “to arrive” or “to reach.” Learners first see it in basic phrases about going places or reaching a time point: 到学校 “arrive at school,” 到家 “get home,” 你几点到？ “What time will you arrive?,” or 到明天 “until tomorrow.” It often appears after motion verbs like 去/来/走 (go/come/walk) to indicate the endpoint: 走到那儿 “walk to there,” 开到北京 “drive to Beijing.” It can also mark reaching an abstract point, like 到时候 “when the time comes” or 数到十 “count to ten.” Another key usage is as a result complement, attached after a verb to show that the action successfully “reached” its goal. Common examples in textbooks and learner resources include 找到 “to find (successfully),” 听到 “to hear,” 看到 “to see,” 买到 “manage to buy,” and 学到 “to have learned (something).” Here 到 doesn’t mean physical arrival; it marks that the intended result has been achieved. Learners also quickly meet set patterns like 收到 “to receive,” 做到 “to manage to do/achieve,” and 注意到 “to notice,” which are very frequent in everyday speech and writing.

Handwriting Notes

到 is visually made of two stacked parts: 至 on top and 刂 (the “knife” radical) on the right side at the bottom. In ordinary handwriting, the whole character tends to become more compact and slightly slanted, with strokes running together a bit instead of looking as separate and straight as in printed fonts. The top horizontal strokes may be written with a slight curve or merge visually, and the long vertical in the lower right component often leans and tapers, giving the character a more flowing look. People may also simplify angles into smoother hooks, make the left side slightly narrower than the right, and vary how sharply they turn corners or how long they draw the final vertical stroke. Despite these differences, the key cues in handwriting are still the “stacked” feeling of the top component and the distinct vertical-right-side element that marks the 刂. Because individual handwriting can be messy or stylized, AI handwriting recognition systems are trained to recognize 到 across many writing styles and levels of neatness. They rely on the overall structure—top vs. bottom/right components, stroke direction patterns, and relative proportions—rather than needing every stroke to match the printed form exactly.

Description

到 is a common verb meaning “to arrive,” “to reach,” or “to go to” a place or time. It is also used as a result complement after verbs to show that an action has successfully reached its goal (e.g., 看到了 “saw it,” 找到 “found it”).

Common Words

  • 到达dào dáto arrive; arrival
  • 达到dá dàoto reach; to achieve; to attain
  • 收到shōu dàoto receive
  • 看到kàn dàoto see; to catch sight of
  • 听到tīng dàoto hear
  • 找到zhǎo dàoto find
  • 见到jiàn dàoto see; to meet
  • 做到zuò dàoto manage to do; to accomplish
  • 学到xué dàoto learn; to acquire (knowledge or skill)
  • 说到shuō dàoto mention; speaking of
  • 走到zǒu dàoto walk to; to reach (by walking)
  • 迟到chí dàoto be late
  • 早到zǎo dàoto arrive early
  • 到处dào chùeverywhere
  • 到期dào qīto mature; to become due; to expire (as in a contract or loan)
  • 到位dào wèiin place; well done; properly in position
  • 到手dào shǒuto get hold of; to obtain
  • 到头dào tóuto come to an end; at the end
  • 到家dào jiāto get home; (of a skill) to reach a high level
  • 到来dào láito arrive; arrival; coming
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