dào HSK 2

English Meaning

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📚 Example Sentences

我到家了。
Wǒ dào jiā le.
I have arrived home.
他到学校。
Tā dào xuéxiào.
He arrives at school.
妈妈到商店。
Māma dào shāngdiàn.
Mom goes to the store.
我很快就到车站了。
Wǒ hěn kuài jiù dào chēzhàn le.
I will arrive at the station soon.
她今天很早就到办公室了。
Tā jīntiān hěn zǎo jiù dào bàngōngshì le.
She got to the office early today.

💡 Memory Tip

Think of 到 as 'down-arrive'—the character includes 至 (zhì, meaning 'to arrive') as a component, reinforcing its meaning of reaching a destination or goal.

📝 Usage Notes

It is used in both formal and informal contexts, in spoken and written Chinese. Common contexts include indicating arrival at a physical location (e.g., 到北京), reaching a point in time (e.g., 到明天), or achieving a result (e.g., 看到, meaning 'to see').

📖 Grammar Points

Often used as a resultative complement after verbs to indicate achievement, as in Verb + 到 (e.g., 找到, 'to find'; 遇到, 'to encounter'). It can also follow time words to indicate 'until' (e.g., 从早到晚, 'from morning to night').

🏯 Cultural Notes

This character is central to the concept of punctuality and completion, often heard in the common farewell "慢走" and its response "请留步," implying a successful arrival or transfer of something to its intended recipient.

🔄 Similar Words

Compared to 来 (lái, 'to come') and 去 (qù, 'to go'), which focus on direction, 到 emphasizes the endpoint or result of movement. For example, 来北京 means 'come to Beijing' (focus on coming), while 到北京 means 'arrive in Beijing' (focus on reaching).

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