敵 meaning and stroke order
Enemy, foe, rival; to match; to resist
How to write 敵, stroke by stroke
15 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 敵
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 敵 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Strike.
攵 gives the meaning and 啇 hints at the sound.
Radical: 攵 (to rap), shared by 36 characters on this site.
How to remember 敵
敵 is a sound-meaning character. The right side 攵 means to strike and gives the meaning, so picture someone you strike at, an enemy, while the left side 啇 hints at the sound dí.
敵 is the traditional form, and mainland China writes it 敌. It rarely stands alone and usually appears in words like 敵人 (dírén, enemy) or 無敵 (wúdí, unbeatable). Example: 他們是我們的敵人。(Tāmen shì wǒmen de dírén.) They are our enemies.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse the left part 啇 with 商 (shāng, trade), which looks very similar but has a different top, and they end up writing the wrong component. Also keep the second tone in dí; it is not dì.
Common words with 敵
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 敵人 | dírén | enemy | HSK 4 |
| 無敵 | wúdí | unequalled; without rival | HSK 7-9 |
| 敵軍 | díjūn | enemy troops; hostile forces | |
| 敵方 | dífāng | enemy | |
| 敵機 | díjī | enemy plane | |
| 敵意 | díyì | enmity; hostility | |
| 敵對 | díduì | hostile; enemy (factions) | |
| 公敵 | gōngdí | public enemy | |
| 仇敵 | chóudí | enemy | |
| 天敵 | tiāndí | predator; natural enemy | |
| 殺敵 | shādí | to attack the enemy | |
| 樹敵 | shùdí | to antagonize people; to make an enemy of sb | |
| 情敵 | qíngdí | rival in love | |
| 死敵 | sǐdí | mortal enemy; arch-enemy |
Questions about 敵
How many strokes are in 敵?
敵 is written with 15 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 敵 mean?
敵 (dí) means enemy, foe, rival; to match; to resist. A common word with it is 敌人 (dírén), meaning "enemy".
How do you pronounce 敵?
敵 is pronounced dí, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 敵?
The radical of 敵 is 攵, which carries the idea of "to rap". Dictionaries list 敵 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 敵?
敵 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 敌, used in mainland China and Singapore.
What does 無敵 (wúdí) mean in everyday speech?
Literally it means without a rival, so unbeatable. People also use it casually to praise something as amazing, like 這個味道無敵 (zhège wèidào wúdí), this flavor is unbeatable.
How is 敵 used in the sense of to match or to resist?
This sense shows up in set phrases such as 寡不敵眾 (guǎ bù dí zhòng), the few cannot withstand the many. Here 敵 means to be a match for or to hold out against.