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得体 (dé tǐ) — appropriate to the occasion; fitting

Definition

得体 (détǐ) emphasizes behaving, speaking, or dressing in a way that fits the social context and shows good taste. Compared with 合适 (general 'suitable') and 贴切 (applies mostly to words/translations), 得体 is specifically about people and their conduct.

adjective
appropriate to the occasionfitting

Examples

  • ，得体。
    Zài zhòng yào chǎng hé, tā shuō huà hěn dé tǐ.
    At important occasions, he speaks very appropriately.
  • 得体，。
    Tā jīn tiān chuān dé hěn dé tǐ, dà jiā dōu chēng zàn tā.
    She is dressed very appropriately today, and everyone praised her.
  • 得体，。
    Tā de huí dá hěn dé tǐ, ràng dà jiā dōu mǎn yì.
    His answer was very appropriate and made everyone satisfied.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

得défit
体tǐbody

"得" (fit) and "体" (body) combine to mean suitable, like something fitting the body.

Characters in this word

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

The old form 㝵 showed a hand picking up a cowry, meaning to obtain; later changes turned that picture into 得.

Open 得 →

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 體; 体 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
骨骨gǔbone
Sound part声符shēngfú
豊
豊lǐ體tǐ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 體 pairs 骨 (bone) with 豊 as a sound part; this note is about 體, not about the parts of 体.

Open 体 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Good & Bad

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