Meaning
(possessive particle); of; really and truly; aim; clear
Chinese: 结构助词，常表示所属关系，也可读 dí、dì。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “de” becomes a different word in each tone. 的 is the 5. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Note: 的 itself is the neutral (light) tone — short and unstressed.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 别的bié deelse; other
- 真的zhēn dereally; truly; indeed; real
- 有的yǒu de(there are) some (who are...); some (exist)
- 目的mù dìpurpose; aim; goal; target
- 的话de huàif (coming after a conditional clause)
Example Sentence
这是我的书，那是你的笔。Zhè shì wǒ de shū, nà shì nǐ de bǐ.This is my book, and that is your pen.
这Zhèthis是shìis我wǒI的deof书shūbook，那是nà shì(coll.) of course你nǐyou的deof笔bǐpen。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
白 (white/bright) plus 勺 (sound): originally ‘bright; a target’ (as in 目的, 的[dì]). It is now overwhelmingly the structural/possessive particle ‘de’ — the single most frequent character in Chinese.
A way to remember it
Mostly the little linking word ‘de’: 我的 (my), 红的 (the red one).