The character 的 — “possessive particle”: how to write it and what it means
possessive particle
The Chinese character 的 is read de and means “possessive particle”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 的
的 has 8 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 的, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 的 is made of
The most frequent character in Chinese.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 的
- 有的someHSK 1
- 别的other, elseHSK 3
- 的话"if" (end of condition)HSK 3
- 目的purpose, aimHSK 4
- 目的地destinationHSK 4
- 的确indeed, reallyHSK 5
- 似的as if, like (after a word)HSK 5
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 的?
的 has 8 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 的 mean?
的 means “possessive particle”. It appears in 有的 (“some”), 别的 (“other”), 的话 (“"if"”), 目的 (“purpose”).
How do you pronounce 的?
的 is read de. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 的 have?
8 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 的 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
Start for free