到 in Context

CONGRATULATIONS! 

The Character You Just Learned is Also a Common Word!

Usage 1 - " to arrive, reach": 

Sentence:

我到酒店了。  

English:

I’ve arrived at the hotel.

Top-Down Words:

酒店 jiǔdiàn - hotel

---

*Sentence:

到了公园，我看到了臭臭正穿着红色的大衣在和别人拍照。

English:

When arriving at the park, I saw Chouchou wearing a red coat taking pictures with some other people.

Top-Down Words:

色 sè - color

---

*Sentence:

你多发一点自己的自拍照片到手机上。

English:

Send a few more of your selfies to the mobile phone.

Top-Down Words:

---

Sentence:

你到家了吗? 

English:

Have you arrived at home? 

---

Usage 2 - "go to, leave for":

*Sentence:

我要走到公园去玩。  

English:

I will walk to the park to play.

---

Usage 3  - "up until, up to":

*Sentence:

他从早上到下午一直在工作。  

English:

He continuously worked from morning to afternoon.

Top-Down Words:

工作 gōngzuò - to work; one’s work; a work task

---

Usage 4  - "(used as a verb complement to show the result of an action)":

*Dialogue:

A：你看到了那个人吗？
B：看到了。（没看到）

English:

A: Did you see that person?
B: Yes (no)

---

---

Need a Reminder?

The Six Steps to Learning Words

Understanding Chinese Words - Morphemes

3 Questions About Words

---

Member Comments from 2019-mid-2020

Do you also want to leave a comment? You can do so below！

Jay A

你多发一点*自己的*自拍照片到手机上。
Why 自己的 instead of 你的?

Mandarin Blueprint

Based on reading loads of Chinese, I'd say that in this context, they are both correct, but 自己的 might be used more often when giving general instructions to several people. For example, if this sentence was among a list of things to do while traveling, it strikes me that you're more likely to see "自己的," because the writer of the list wouldn't be talking to 'you 你' directly. This certainly falls into the category of "read a lot of Chinese, and you'll unconsciously figure out the difference."

Jay A

Interesting. thanks. I look forward to reading loads of chinese!

MB Team

Here's the link to where Phil & Luke talked about this comment in the Mandarin Blueprint Podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VUXnc__GtM&t=2566s

---

Rick Angleland

说曹操，曹操到了。
Wouldn't that be a good sentence here, since there's only one top-down word 曹操, and the meaning is memorable in English: "speak of the devil..."

I suddenly recognized this tonight on the Chinese TV drama Ode of Joy, after reading the saying years ago in a fascinating and highly recommended book about languages and translation Le Ton beau de Marot. It was a thrill to hear and recognize it in Chinese, thanks to understanding the other words in the sentence!