Dictionary › 到底

到底

dào dǐ

Old HSK 4 HSK 3.0 level 4 2-character word

到底 (dào dǐ) means "after all; on earth; in the end". It is an HSK 3.0 level 4 word, and was HSK 4 in the old six-level list.

What 到底 means

1. finally
2. in the end
3. when all is said and done
4. after all
5. to the end
6. to the last

The characters in 到底

• 到dàoto reach; to arrive; to leave for; to go to; to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point)
• 底dǐbottom; base; background; foundation; copy (of a manuscript or receipt etc) kept as a…

Example sentences

• 坚持到底！
  Stiff upper lip!
• 到底怎幺了？
  What on earth is the matter?
• 你到底是谁？
  Who are you, anyway?
• 他到底想干嘛？
  What does he want to do?
• 你到底答应吗？
  Did you eventually respond?
• 你到底怎么回事嘛
  Nǐ dàodǐ zěnmehuíshì ma
  What has happened to you?

Words containing 到底

• 归根到底guī gēn dào dǐafter all; in the final analysis; ultimately
• 说到底shuō dào dǐin the final analysis; in the end
• 强辩到底qiǎng biàn dào dǐto argue endlessly; to try to have the last word
• 拼到底pīn dào dǐto brave it out; to the bitter end
• 打破砂锅问到底dǎ pò shā guō wèn dào dǐto go to the bottom of things (idiom)

Where 到底 is taught

In the GraphChinese course it is part of Modal & certainty adverbs (HSK 4), each one a topic in the dependency graph of HSK 1–6 that opens only once its prerequisites are solid.

Go deeper

• Every HSK 4 word, with the rest of its level.
• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read dào dǐ correctly.
• Look up another word in the free dictionary.