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到期 (dào qī) — (of a deadline, visa, contract) to expire; (of a loan, investment) to become due, to mature

Definition

到期 means a fixed end date is reached — a visa, contract, or loan becomes invalid or payable. For expired food or out-of-date documents, use 过期.

verb
(of a deadline, visa, contract) to expire(of a loan, investment) to become dueto mature

Examples

  • 到期。
    Wǒ de qiān zhèng xià ge yuè dào qī.
    My visa expires next month.
  • ，。
    Zhè fèn hé tong dào le qī, yào chóng xīn qiān.
    This contract has expired and needs to be re-signed.
  • 到期。
    Zhè zhāng yōu huì quàn míng tiān dào qī.
    This coupon expires tomorrow.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

到dàoreach
期qīdeadline

到 means reach and 期 means deadline or term; reaching the due time makes it expire.

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.

Open 到 →

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
日日rì
Sound part声符shēngfú
其
其qí期qī
Same sound today

The original form paired 其 for its sound with 日 (sun). A related form changed that sun to 月, and this later developed into 期.

Open 期 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5Business & CommerceTime (Abstract)

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