达 (dá) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

达

dá[da2]Tone 2

to reach, to attain, to communicate

HSK 3

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達

Guru Deep Dive

English · to reach, to attain, to communicate

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:6

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (⻌) should wrap gracefully around the right component (幸 without bottom hook or modified), keeping the overall silhouette balanced and not too wide.

Simplification Logic: Simplified from 達 by standardizing the walking shell radical ⻌ to 3 strokes instead of traditional 4, and simplifying the inner component.

1. Meaning

to reach or arrive at a destination

to attain a goal or standardto communicate or convey informationeminent or distinguishedsurname Da

Verb / AdjectiveNeutral#movement#achievement#communication

Sample Usage

到达
dào dá
to arrive / to reach
通达
tōng dá
understanding / open and accessible

2. Sound

/[ta²¹⁴]/Tone: 35

达

dáda2

´(35)

=dá

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Alveolar

Sounds like: d sound in English 'dog'

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: No puff of air. Tissue remains still (sounds like English 't' in 'stop').

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip pressed lightly against the alveolar ridge behind the upper front teeth, releasing without a strong puff of air.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: ah sound in English 'father'

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ah'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T2 (35)

3 → 5 (35)

2nd Tone (Mid-Rising)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 2 starts at a mid pitch and rises sharply to the top, exactly like asking 'What?' in English when you didn't hear someone.

Sandhi: When followed by a Tone 4 syllable, it changes to a rising half-tone according to standard Mandarin sandhi rules.

👂

Listening trap: Do not confuse the rising Tone 2 (dá) with Tone 4 (dà) which drops sharply.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A quick upward sweep of the hand, like nodding upward or asking 'Huh?' in surprise.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 6 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (⻌) should wrap gracefully around the right component (幸 without bottom hook or modified), keeping the overall silhouette balanced and not too wide.

Simplification Logic: Simplified from 達 by standardizing the walking shell radical ⻌ to 3 strokes instead of traditional 4, and simplifying the inner component.

4. Components

Radical ⻌ · Walking Radical / Movement Radical (movement, walking, journey)

Semantic Clue (形旁): ⻌ (indicates movement, traveling, or reaching a destination)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 圭 (original sound: da / ta sound cluster in ancient phonology)

A walking shell (⻌) carrying a scholar or official seal (originally 幸 or similar shape) moving forward to reach a destination.

⻌ movement or walking
幸 phonetic and structural component

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

7· Phonetic Root: 大 (dà)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally combined the walking element (⻌) to signify motion and travel, with phonetic elements denoting sound and completion.

Semantic Evolution: Shifted from literal physical movement and arriving at a place to abstract attainment, success, and communication.

In classical texts, it frequently appeared in contexts describing messengers reaching remote territories.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: タツ

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

달

Sound Shift Bridge: Mandarin 'dá' parallels historical Chinese borrowings into neighboring languages maintaining the stop ending.

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

You put on your walking shoes (⻌) and walk steadily step by step until you REACH (达) your goal of fortune and happiness.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

达

dáto reachBase character

𠬤

dávariant formRare variant

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

大(dà)

大 means 'big' and lacks the walking radical ⻌ on the left.

汰(tài)

汰 replaces the walking radical with water 氵, meaning to wash out or eliminate.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

我们终于[___]了目的地。

Clue: dào dá

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the rising tone (Tone 2) with the falling tone (Tone 4, dà), or omitting the walking radical ⻌ when handwriting.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see '达', what does it mean and how is it pronounced with tones?

Production: How do you write the character for 'to reach/attain' (dá) featuring the walking radical?

达dáto reach, to attain, to communicate

Speed:

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