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想得到 (xiǎng dé dào) — to think of, to imagine, to expect (usually in rhetorical questions)

Definition

Used in rhetorical questions and set phrases like 想不到/没想到 to mean 'would have thought / expected' — the negative forms are far more common than the affirmative.

verb
to think ofto imagineto expect (usually in rhetorical questions)

Examples

  • 想得到？
    Shuí xiǎng dé dào tā huì zuò chū zhè zhǒng shì lái?
    Who would have thought he would do such a thing?
  • 想得到。
    Wǒ zǎo jiù xiǎng dé dào nǐ huì chéng gōng.
    I had already expected you would succeed.
  • 想得到，。
    Zhēn xiǎng dé dào bú dào, tā jìng rán cí zhí le.
    I really can't imagine that he actually resigned.

Origin

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
心心xīnheart, mind
Sound part声符shēngfú
相
相xiāng想xiǎng
Same sound today

想 has 心 (heart, mind) below 相 (to look at); the shape shows the mind looking at or considering something, and 相 also gives the sound.

Open 想 →

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.

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 →
Appears in
Thinking & Cognition

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