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透顶 (tòu dǐng) — thoroughly; extremely (used after adjectives, often with a negative connotation)

Definition

透顶 (tòudǐng) means 'thoroughly / utterly' and attaches AFTER an adjective to intensify it — almost always with a negative sense (腐败透顶 = utterly corrupt).

adverb
thoroughlyextremely (used after adjectives, often with a negative connotation)

Examples

  • 透顶。
    Zhè cì kǎo shì wǒ kǎo dé zāo gāo tòu dǐng.
    I did terribly on this exam.
  • 透顶，。
    Tā zhēn shì hú tu tòu dǐng, lián zì jǐ de shēng rì dōu wàng le.
    He is utterly confused — he even forgot his own birthday.
  • 透顶，。
    Nà ge gōng sī fǔ bài tòu dǐng, chí zǎo yào dǎo bì.
    That company is thoroughly corrupt; it will go bankrupt sooner or later.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

透tòupenetrate
顶dǐngtop

透 means penetrate and 顶 means top, so the image is going through to the top, i.e. utterly.

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
辵辵chuòwalking
Sound part声符shēngfú
秀
秀xiù透tòu
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape 透 has 辵, a walking part, and 秀, which provides the sound.

Open 透 →

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yèhead
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng頂dǐng
Same sound today

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

Open 顶 →
Appears in
Comparison & Degree

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