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

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

HSK 4

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.

HSK 4

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.

HSK 7-9

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.