敌 meaning and stroke order
Enemy, foe, rival; to match; to resist
How to write 敌, stroke by stroke
10 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 敌
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bound form) enemy
- (bound form) to be a match for; to rival
- (bound form) to resist; to withstand
How 敌 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Strike.
攵 gives the meaning and 啇 hints at the sound.
Radical: 舌 (tongue), shared by 8 characters on this site.
How to remember 敌
On the left is 舌 (shé, tongue) and on the right is 攵, a hand holding a stick ready to strike. Picture someone who sticks out their tongue at you and then raises a stick: that is an enemy. The 攵 part carries the real meaning of striking, and the full form 敵 uses 啇 for the sound.
敌 is a bound form, so it almost always appears inside words like 敌人 (dírén, enemy), 敌意 (díyì, hostility) and 无敌 (wúdí, unbeatable). It can also mean to match or withstand, as in the set phrase 寡不敌众 (guǎ bù dí zhòng, the few cannot withstand the many). Example: 他把我当成敌人。(Tā bǎ wǒ dàngchéng dírén.) He treats me as an enemy.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 敌 with 适 (shì, suitable) and 话 (huà, speech), which also contain 舌. Remember that 敌 has the striking hand 攵 on the right, while 适 has the walking radical 辶 and 话 has the speech radical 讠.
Common words with 敌
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 敌人 | dírén | enemy | HSK 4 |
| 无敌 | wúdí | unequalled; without rival | HSK 7-9 |
| 敌军 | díjūn | enemy troops; hostile forces | |
| 敌方 | dífāng | enemy | |
| 敌机 | díjī | enemy plane | |
| 敌意 | díyì | enmity; hostility | |
| 敌对 | díduì | hostile; enemy (factions) | |
| 公敌 | gōngdí | public enemy | |
| 仇敌 | chóudí | enemy | |
| 天敌 | tiāndí | predator; natural enemy | |
| 杀敌 | shādí | to attack the enemy | |
| 树敌 | shùdí | to antagonize people; to make an enemy of sb | |
| 情敌 | qíngdí | rival in love | |
| 死敌 | sǐdí | mortal enemy; arch-enemy |
敌 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 敌
How many strokes are in 敌?
敌 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 敌 mean?
敌 (dí) means enemy, foe, rival; to match; to resist. A common word with it is 敌人 (dírén), meaning "enemy".
How do you pronounce 敌?
敌 is pronounced dí, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 敌?
The radical of 敌 is 舌, which carries the idea of "tongue". Dictionaries list 敌 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 敌?
The traditional form of 敌 is 敵. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 敌 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 敌 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 敌 is part of the HSK 4 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.
Can I say 敌 by itself to mean enemy?
Not usually in everyday speech. Use 敌人 (dírén) for a person who is an enemy, or 对手 (duìshǒu) for a rival in sports or games.
What does 无敌 mean when people use it online?
Literally it means without rival or invincible. In casual speech it is often used for praise or teasing, as in 你真是无敌了 (nǐ zhēn shì wúdí le), meaning you are simply unbeatable or something like that is too much.