丁 meaning and stroke order
Male adult; the 4th of the 10 Heavenly Stems 天干[tian1 gan1]; fourth (used like "4" or "D")
How to write 丁, stroke by stroke
2 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
Meaning of 丁
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- male adult
- the 4th of the 10 Heavenly Stems 天干[tian1 gan1]
- fourth (used like "4" or "D")
- small cube of meat or vegetable
- (literary) to encounter
- (archaic) ancient Chinese compass point: 195°
- used in 丁丁[zheng1 zheng1]
How 丁 is built
Pictographic character. A nail.
Radical: 一 (one), shared by 34 characters on this site.
How to remember 丁
丁 (dīng) is a picture of a nail: the flat top stroke is the nail head and the hooked vertical stroke is the shaft driven into wood. Picture a sturdy nail standing upright, like a strong adult man standing firm.
Today 丁 often appears in sound loanwords like 布丁 (bùdīng, pudding) and 拉丁 (lādīng, Latin), and it also means small cubes of food, as in 鸡丁 (jīdīng, diced chicken). It can mark the fourth item in a list, like D in English. Example: 我只吃了一丁点。(Wǒ zhǐ chī le yīdīngdiǎn.) I only ate a tiny bit.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 丁 with 了 (le) or 子 (zǐ) because of the hooked vertical stroke, but 丁 has one straight horizontal on top and the vertical hooks to the left at the bottom. Also, 丁 is first tone dīng, not dǐng like 顶 (dǐng, top).
Common words with 丁
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 布丁 | bùdīng | pudding (loanword) | |
| 拉丁 | lādīng | Latin; (in former times) to press-gang | |
| 园丁 | yuándīng | gardener | |
| 一丁点 | yīdīngdiǎn | a tiny bit | |
| 沙丁鱼 | shādīngyú | sardine (loanword) | |
| 丁丁 | Dīngdīng | (neologism) (slang) penis (丁丁 resembles "JJ", which is short for 雞雞|鸡鸡[ji1 ji1]) | |
| 马丁尼 | mǎdīngní | (loanword) martini | |
| 丁字裤 | dīngzìkù | thong (underwear) | |
| 尼古丁 | nígǔdīng | (loanword) nicotine | |
| 补丁 | bǔding | patch (for mending clothes, tires etc); (software) patch |
丁 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 丁
Learning 丁 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 丁
How many strokes are in 丁?
丁 is written with 2 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 丁 mean?
丁 (dīng) means male adult; the 4th of the 10 Heavenly Stems 天干[tian1 gan1]; fourth (used like "4" or "D"). A common word with it is 布丁 (bùdīng), meaning "pudding (loanword)".
How do you pronounce 丁?
丁 is pronounced dīng, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 丁?
The radical of 丁 is 一, which carries the idea of "one". Dictionaries list 丁 under this radical.
Is 丁 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 丁 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why does 丁 mean diced food in dishes like 宫保鸡丁?
One sense of 丁 is a small cube of meat or vegetable. In menus, 鸡丁 means diced chicken and 肉丁 means diced meat.
Is 丁 used as a surname?
Yes, 丁 (Dīng) is a fairly common Chinese surname. It is also used in transliterating foreign names, such as 马丁 (Mǎdīng) for Martin.