对方 (duì fāng) — the other person, the other side, the other par…

Definition

对方 names the specific 'other side' in a two-party interaction (a deal, call, match, relationship). Unlike 别人 ('other people' in general), it implies a counterpart you're directly engaging with.

noun

the other personthe other sidethe other party (in a conversation, relationship, or transaction)

Examples

对方。
duì fāng Yǐ jīng tóng yì le wǒ men de jì huà.
The other party has already agreed to our plan.
对方？
Nǐ zhī dào duì fāng jiào shén me míng zì ma?
Do you know what the other person's name is?
对方。
Qǐng bǎ zhè fèn hé tong chuán gěi duì fāng.
Please send this contract to the other party.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

对duìopposite

方fāngside

The '对' part means opposite and the '方' part means side; together they denote the other person or party.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 對; 对 is its simplified writing.

丵丵zhuótool for digging
土土tǔearth
又又yòuhand

For the traditional form 對, the shape comes from an early drawing of 丵 (a digging tool), 土 (earth), and 又 (a hand); it may have meant developing land.

Open 对 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 方 →