的
Meanings · de
- 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 pí gé de "one made of leather" or 跑堂兒的 pǎo táng r de "a waiter (literally, one who runs back and forth in a restaurant)" or 新的 xīn de "new one")
- also pr. dì or di in poetry and songs
Meanings · dī
- (bound form) a taxi; a cab (abbr. for 的士 dī shì)
Meanings · dí
- really and truly
Meanings · dì
- (bound form) bull's-eye; target
Characters in this entry
- 的
- de · possessive, adjectival suffix
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Mandarin tones
5 · de5
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
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Sentences in context
Exact source-spelling matches. Open the reader for dictionary lookups, construction notes and related examples. Occurrence does not establish a particular dictionary sense.
Read this spelling in Classical texts
Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 19 senses · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
dik1
Cantonese word readings for 的. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
character · Etymology 1
- bright; clear; distinct
- white; white-coloured
- white forehead of horses; white-foreheaded horse
- centre of target for archery
- aim; standard; criterion
- target; objective
- (historical) red dot worn on the centre of the forehead by women; bindi
- (alt-of, alternative) alternative form of 菂 (dì, “lotus seed”)
- (obsolete) true; real
- really; truly; certainly
character · Etymology 2
- (Jin, Mandarin, Xiang) genitive case marker — Used after an attribute. Indicates that the previous word has possession of the next one. It functions like ’s in English (or like the word “of” but with the position of possessor and possessee switched). ’s; of
- (Jin, Mandarin, Xiang) genitive case marker — Used to link a noun, an adjective or a phrase to a noun to describe it. that; who
- (Jin, Mandarin, Xiang) genitive case marker — Used to express “of that kind”.
- (Jin, Mandarin, Xiang) nominalizer — Used to form a noun phrase or nominal expression.
- (Jin, Mandarin, Xiang) nominalizer — Used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis.
- (Jin, Mandarin, Xiang) nominalizer — Used after a verb or between a verb and its object to stress an element of the sentence. It can be used with 是 (shì) to surround the stressed element.
- (informal) Used to express multiplication or addition. and, by
character · Etymology 3
- (Jin, Mandarin, Xiang) Used in transcription.
- (Jin, Mandarin, Xiang, abbreviation, alt-of) Used in transcription. — short for 的士 (dīshì, “taxi”)
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
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