定 (dìng): to fix; to set; to decide

Meanings

1 to fix; to set; to decide
2 definite; certain; stable

Characters

定

dìng

to fix; to decide; certain

A roof radical 宀 over 正 (correct) — something settled correctly under a roof, hence "decided and stable."

Examples

我们决定去旅行。

Wǒmen juédìng qù lǚxíng.

We decided to travel.

一定要来啊！

Yīdìng yào lái a!

You must come!

时间定了吗？

Shíjiān dìng le ma?

Has the time been set?

Tips

usage

定 is extremely productive: 一定 (definitely), 决定 (to decide), 肯定 (certainly), 稳定 (stable), 固定 (fixed). 订 is a related character for 'to book/order'.

Components

radical

宀 mián

roof

Top indexing roof radical — caps the character with the image of a fixed dwelling. The roof groups stability / home characters: 家 (home), 安 (peace), 完 (complete), 定 (settled). Grounds 定 in the sense 'sheltered and put right, decided' — the roof is the frame under which things are made stable.

semantic

疋 pǐ

foot (here stylized 正)

Bottom 疋 — read here as a stylized 正 (correct, upright), drawn with its top horizontal merged into the roof above. The compound ideograph reads: under a roof, things are set straight = decided, fixed, stable. The 疋 shape preserves the 'foot planted firmly' silhouette of the underlying 正.