领到 (lǐng dào) — to receive (after claiming, applying, or collecting); to get (salary, documents, etc.)

Definition

领到 emphasizes successfully obtaining something after a process — claiming, applying, or being issued (salary, documents, subsidies). Pairs with 了 to mark the completed receipt.

verb
to receive (after claiming, applying, or collecting)to get (salary, documents, etc.)

Examples

  • 领到。
    Wǒ shàng ge yuè lǐng dào le gōng zī.
    I received my salary last month.
  • 领到。
    Tā lǐng dào le yí fèn xīn de gōng zuò hé tong.
    He got a new work contract.
  • 领到？
    Nǐ men shén me shí hou néng lǐng dào bǔ tiē?
    When can you receive the allowance?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

领lǐngreceive/claim
到dàoarrive

“领” (receive or claim) plus “到” (arrive) shows the claimed thing has arrived into hand.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 領; 领 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yè
Sound part声符shēngfú
令
令lìng領lǐng
Same sound today

The traditional form 領 has 令 as a sound part and 頁 as a meaning part; the simplified 领 is a later shorthand.

Open 领 →

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 →

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