到顶 (dào dǐng) — to reach the peak; to reach a pinnacle (literal…

Definition

Means something has reached its highest point and cannot go further — used for performance, careers, or rankings, not just physical height.

verb

to reach the peakto reach a pinnacle (literally or figuratively)

，到顶。
Tā men nǔ lì pá shān, zuì hòu zhōng yú dào dǐng le.
They worked hard to climb the mountain and finally reached the top.
，到顶。
Tā nǔ lì xùn liàn, chéng jì zhōng yú dào dǐng le.
He trained hard, and his performance finally reached the peak.
，。
Tā de shì yè yǐ jīng dào le dǐng, hěn nán zài jìn bù.
His career has already reached its peak; it's hard to improve further.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

It combines 到 meaning reach and 顶 meaning top, so the image is arriving at the highest point.

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

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 頂; 顶 is its simplified writing.

丁頁頂

Meaning part形符xíngfú

頁頁yèhead

Sound part声符shēngfú

丁

Same sound today

The traditional form 頂 pairs 頁, meaning head, with 丁, which supplies the sound; the simplified 顶 is a later abbreviation.

Appears in