的 (dì): target; bull's-eye (of an arche…

Meanings

1 target; bull's-eye (of an archery target)
2 aim; goal; purpose

Characters

的

dì

target; bull's-eye (of an archery target)

Examples

我们这次旅行的目的是放松。

Wǒmen zhè cì lǚxíng de mùdì shì fàngsōng.

The purpose of this trip is to relax.

他一语中的，说出了问题的关键。

Tā yī yǔ zhòng dì, shuō chū le wèntí de guānjiàn.

He hit the bullseye with a single remark, naming the heart of the problem.

她成了众矢之的。

Tā chéng le zhòngshǐzhīdì.

She became the target of everyone's attacks.

Tips

usage

dì is a bound form — it does not stand alone in modern Chinese, but anchors a whole family of common compounds: 目的 (goal), 目的地 (destination), 有的放矢 (to aim with purpose), 一语中的 (to nail it in one sentence), 众矢之的 (target of public criticism), 标的 (target / underlying asset, finance).

memory

Picture a white archery target with a black dot in the middle — that is literally what dì meant in Warring-States military texts. The radical 白 (white) is the canvas; the phonetic 勺 is the ladle-shaped quiver. Whenever you see 的 inside a word about goals or aiming, switch from de to dì.

Components

radical

白 bái

white; clear

Left white radical (Kangxi #106). On the dì reading 白 carries real visual weight: archery targets in Han-era illustrations were painted white with a single contrasting bull's-eye, and 的 originally named that pale disk. Compare 皓 (bright white), 皎 (moon-bright).

phonetic

勺 sháo

ladle; spoon (phonetic)

Right phonetic 勺 supplied the sound; the falling tone landed on dì in compounds about aim. Same-phonetic family: 约, 钓, 灼, 酌. The colloquial taxi reading dī lives on a separate page, and the toneless grammar particle de lives on the primary 的 page.