到位 (dào wèi) — (verb) to be in place (of funds, equipment, per… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

到位 means work or preparation is 'thorough, up to standard' (做得∼) — sharper and more exacting than 好好 ('carefully'). As a verb it means people/equipment are in place where they should be.

verb

to be in place (of funds, equipment, personnel)to have arrived at the intended location

adjective

thoroughpreciseup to standard (of actions, preparation, performance)

Examples

到位。
Suǒ yǒu wù zī dōu yǐ dào wèi.
All supplies are already in place.
到位，。
Tā de dòng zuò zuò dé hěn dào wèi, jiào liàn hěn mǎn yì.
His movements were performed precisely, and the coach was very satisfied.
到位。
Zhè cì huì yì de rén yuán hái méi wán quán dào wèi.
The personnel for this meeting haven't all arrived yet.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

位wèiposition

到 means reach, and 位 means position; together they mean to be in place.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

至至zhìto arrive

Sound part声符shēngfú

刀

刀dāo到dào

Same sound today

到 combines 至, meaning 'to arrive', with 刀 as the sound part. The 至 part points to the idea of reaching a stopping point.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

立

立lì位wèi

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

位 combines 人 (man), related to people, with 立, which gives the sound. It was often simply written as 立.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Order & Arrangement

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.