How to say “until” in Chinese
until
“Until” in Chinese is 直到, zhí dào: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
直到 is read zhí dào: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
Inside, 目 “eye”.
On the right, 刂 “knife”, dāo, hints at the sound.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “直到”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 直到. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 我直到昨天才知道wǒzhídàozuótiāncáizhīdàoI only found out yesterday.
More words from the lesson “Early or late”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “until” in Chinese?
“Until” in Chinese is 直到, pinyin zhídào.
What does 直到 mean?
直到 (zhídào) means “until”.
How do you write 直到?
直到 is 2 characters: 直 (zhí) — straight; all along; 到 (dào) — arrive. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 直到?
直到 is read zhídào. Tones: zhí — second tone, dào — fourth tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“until” in the lesson “Early or late”
This word is from the topic “Seasons and time” of HSK 3. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
Start for free