的

Glyph origin
.

The original form was with the meaning of “bright”, hence the initial  semantic. See Etymology 1 below.

Etymology 1
“Bright”. Compare.

The sense of “mark in a target” may be secondary. Alternatively, it may be an independent root on its own. Compare 🇨🇬.

Definitions

 * 1) bright; clear; distinct
 * 2) white; white-coloured
 * 3) white forehead of horses; white-foreheaded horse
 * 4) centre of target for archery
 * 5) aim; standard; criterion
 * 6) target; objective
 * 7)  red dot worn on the centre of the forehead by women; bindi
 * 8) true; real
 * 9) really; truly; certainly
 * 1)  red dot worn on the centre of the forehead by women; bindi
 * 2) true; real
 * 3) really; truly; certainly
 * 1) true; real
 * 2) really; truly; certainly

Descendats

 * Kypchak: -daq, -day
 * Karluk: -daq, -day
 * Oghuz: -dek, -tek
 * Oghuz: -dek, -tek

Etymology 2
First attested in the as. This glyph was borrowed later to represent de, the possessive marker in Northern Chinese, superseding the earlier as a way to write this word.

There are three main competing proposals for its etymology:
 * Derived from the lenition of the literary genitive marker, which is still preserved in many phrases, and in the written form to some extent, especially in Taiwan.
 * Derived from the lenition of . Note that 的 is also a nominalizer like 者 in Classical Chinese.
 * Derived from the lenition of Middle Chinese demonstrative.

If from either of the first two etymons, possibly cognate with the demonstrative.

Possibly cognate with the particle sense of, which is homophonic but now has its specialised usage.

In contemporary times it is also used to represent unrelated equivalent particles in other Chinese varieties. Examples include 🇨🇬 (,, or , possibly derived from  ), 🇨🇬 gì , 🇨🇬 geq  and 🇨🇬 ge3 ( < ).

Definitions

 * 1)  ’s; of
 * 2)  that; who
 * 3)   and, by
 * 1)  that; who
 * 2)   and, by
 * 1)  that; who
 * 2)   and, by
 * 1)  that; who
 * 2)   and, by
 * 1)   and, by
 * 1)   and, by
 * 1)   and, by
 * 1)   and, by
 * 1)   and, by
 * 1)   and, by
 * 1)   and, by
 * 1)   and, by
 * 1)   and, by
 * 1)   and, by
 * 1)   and, by
 * 1)   and, by
 * 1)   and, by
 * 1)   and, by
 * 1)   and, by
 * 1)   and, by
 * 1)   and, by
 * 1)   and, by
 * 1)   and, by
 * 1)   and, by
 * 1)   and, by
 * 1)   and, by
 * 1)   and, by
 * 1)   and, by
 * 1)   and, by
 * 1)   and, by

Usage notes

 * 的 is usually omitted when referring to a close relationship (family, close friends) or to an institutional or organizational relationship (school, work).
 * 的 is omitted if it is used with a single-syllable adjective.
 * It must be used when the adjective has more than one syllable or if the adjective is qualified by an adverb.
 * 的 is also omitted when the association is frequent
 * When necessary, the character 的 is referred to as to differentiate it from the homophones   and  . In addition, these three particles should not to be confused with each other. Compare these three phrases:
 * In Mandarin slang usage, 的 can be pronounced as di, and substituted by the character in writing:
 *  (where the standard form is "好的")
 * 的 is also omitted when the association is frequent
 * When necessary, the character 的 is referred to as to differentiate it from the homophones   and  . In addition, these three particles should not to be confused with each other. Compare these three phrases:
 * In Mandarin slang usage, 的 can be pronounced as di, and substituted by the character in writing:
 *  (where the standard form is "好的")
 * In Mandarin slang usage, 的 can be pronounced as di, and substituted by the character in writing:
 *  (where the standard form is "好的")
 * In Mandarin slang usage, 的 can be pronounced as di, and substituted by the character in writing:
 *  (where the standard form is "好的")
 *  (where the standard form is "好的")

Etymology 3
Phonetic syllable used to transcribe certain syllables in foreign loanwords.

Etymology 1
Repurposed from the meaning, probably from Ming- and Qing-era  use of this character as a possessive or adjectivizing particle, or even earlier in the Song and Yuan eras. Probably also influenced in the by the  adjective ending  (as in, , or ), ultimately deriving from , used to form adjectives from verbs.

Suffix

 * 1) -ive, -like, -ish, -ic, -ical, -y, kind of, sort of
 * Used to form from nouns. The resulting term has a  or type 0 pitch accent pattern.
 * Used to form similar items from complex noun phrases.
 * Used to form similar items from complex noun phrases.

Etymology 2
From.

Affix

 * 1) target
 * 2) bright, clear

Derived terms

 * : accurate, apt, exact
 * : bon mot, the right word or turn of phrase for the occasion
 * : in, the opposite direction from the favored direction for one's age
 * : certain, definite, actual, real
 * : accurate evidence
 * : fitting, appropriate
 * : clear, distinct
 * : a hit; to be on target
 * , : a hawker, a peddler of cheap and gaudy wares
 * : an appropriate or fitting example
 * : vividly and brightly shining
 * : targeting the testicles
 * : target practice

Noun

 * : enemy, opponent

Pronoun

 * 1)  he, she, it, that one
 * 2)  you

Etymology 3
From. Possibly originally a compound of. Appears to be cognate with homophone.

Noun

 * 1) a target, a mark, a bullseye
 * 2) an objective, an object
 * 1) an objective, an object

Etymology 4
From.
 * May be derived from rare archaic verb.
 * The ha element would presumably derive from the verb ending, which has a of ha. However, this is unlikely, as verb forms ending in -fu underwent the regular f- and h- > w- shift, which would result in a reading of *ikuwa rather than the correct ikuha.


 * The above phonetic discrepancy suggests that ikuha may instead be a compound of iku + ha. The iku element probably derives from root component meaning “shooting [arrows]”, as found in  and also in . The iku element might be related to verb, or obsolete verb , likely cognate with.
 * The ha element is uncertain. It might be, from the sense “the end [of the arrow's flight]”.

Noun

 * 1)  an archery target

Derived terms

 * : the location where an archery target is placed

Etymology 5
From. Alteration of ikuha above. Compare the iku <> yuku alteration in the verb.

Noun

 * 1)  an archery target