到 (dào) means "to arrive, to reach" with 8 strokes, radical 刂 (knife), HSK 1 on the new exam.
Pronunciation
Meaning
Primary: to arrive
Other meanings:
- to reach
Etymology
Oracle-bone origin
到 is a phono-semantic compound, not a pictograph. The component 至 on the left means 'to arrive' and originally showed an arrow landing on the ground, while 刀 on the right supplies the phonetic value (Old Chinese *tawʔ, close to modern dào). 至 itself is the older character for 'arrive' and remains the semantic core of 到.
Form evolution
The character is not attested in oracle bones under this exact form; 至 alone carried the 'arrive' meaning in the earliest scripts. Bronze and seal forms of 到 show 至 on the left and 刀 clearly on the right. In clerical and modern standard script the right-hand 刀 was written as 刂 in some variants but standardised back to a full 刀 shape in the modern 楷书 form used today.
How the meaning evolved
The meaning has been 'arrive, reach, get to' since the character was coined, fully inheriting the sense of 至. In modern Mandarin 到 is extraordinarily productive as a verb complement marking successful completion or reaching a target, as in 看到 (see, perceive) and 找到 (find). It also functions as a preposition meaning 'to' or 'until', as in 从北京到上海 (from Beijing to Shanghai).
Cultural note
Learners often confuse 到 with 道 (way, road) because of the shared pronunciation dào, but the two are unrelated in origin. The resultative pattern V+到 is one of the most useful structures in spoken Mandarin and distinguishes attempting an action (看 look) from completing it (看到 manage to see).
Mnemonic
A knife cuts to the destination — arrive
Decomposition
Breaking a character into its components makes it far easier to recall. Each component above links to its own detail page.
Basic info
| Pinyin | dào |
| Meanings | to arrive, to reach |
| Stroke count | 8 strokes |
| Radical | 刂 (#18: knife) |
| New HSK exam | Recognise at HSK 1 |
| Frequency | #35 most common |
Example sentences
Words containing 到
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 到 | dào | to arrive | HSK 1 |
| 迟到 | chídào | late | HSK 3 |
| 遇到 | yùdào | encounter | HSK 3 |
| 到处 | dàochù | everywhere | HSK 3 |
| 到底 | dàodǐ | To the end | HSK 4 |
| 受到 | shòudào | Suffer | HSK 3 |
| 报到 | bàodào | register,check in | HSK 5 |
| 周到 | zhōudào | thoughtful | HSK 6 |
| 达到 | dádào | Achieve | HSK 4 |
| 到达 | dàodá | Arrive | HSK 5 |
| 从古到今 | cónggǔdàojīn | from ancient times to now | |
| 到来 | dàolái | to arrive, arrival | HSK 4 |
| 到期 | dàoqī | to fall due, to expire | HSK 5 |
| 到头 | dàotóu | to the end, to come to an end |
Related characters
On the new HSK 1 exam
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Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.