狄 (dí): surname Di, generic name for northern ethnic minorities during the Qin and Han Dynasties (221 BC-220 AD), low ranking public official (old)

狄 (dí) is a Chinese character meaning “generic name for northern ethnic minorities during the qin and han dynasties (221 bc-220 ad).” Outside the HSK 3.0 syllabus (CLEC 2022), it is composed of 犭 (semantic) and 火 (phonetic). It ranks #2357 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 狄 animal. Its radical form 犭 (dog) appears in many related characters such as 狗 (gǒu, dog), 猫 (māo, cat), 猜 (cāi, to guess).

Spoken pronunciation

Radical: 犭 dog7 strokesFrequency #2357犭 semantic 火 phonetic

Definitions

surname Di
generic name for northern ethnic minorities during the Qin and Han Dynasties (221 BC-220 AD)
low ranking public official (old)

Etymology & Origin

狄

pictophoneticanimal

Decomposition: ⿰犭火 (layout: left-right)

Components:犭semantic 火phonetic

Stroke Order

Practice writing 狄 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.

Words & Compounds

Common Compounds

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
康涅狄格proper-noun	kāng niè dí gé	Connecticut, US state
狄更斯proper-noun	dí gēng sī	Dickens (name)
查尔斯·狄更斯	chá ěr sī · dí gēng sī	Charles Dickens (1812-1870), great English novelist
大唐狄公案	dà táng dí gōng àn	Three Murder Cases Solved by Judge Dee, 1949 novel by R.H. van Gulik, featuring Tang Dynasty politician Di Renjie 狄仁傑...
狄拉克proper-noun	dí lā kè	P.A.M. Dirac (1902-1984), British physicist
拉狄克	lā dí kè	Karl Berngardovich Radek (1885-1939), Bolshevik and Comintern leader, first president of Moscow Sun Yat-sen Universit...
狄公案	dí gōng àn	Dee Gong An (or Judge Dee's) Cases, 18th century fantasy featuring Tang dynasty politician Di Renjie 狄仁傑\|狄仁杰[Di2 Ren2...
狄奥多	dí ào duō	Theodor (name)
狄奥多·阿多诺	dí ào duō · ā duō nuò	Theodor Ludwig Wiesengrund Adorno (1903-1969), German sociologist, philosopher, musicologist, and composer
俄狄浦斯情结noun	é dí pǔ sī qíng jié	Oedipus complex
阿狄森氏病	ā dí sēn shì bìng	Addison's disease
康乃狄克proper-noun	kāng nǎi dí kè	Connecticut, US state (Tw)
巴布·狄伦	bā bù dí lún	(Tw) Bob Dylan, American folk singer (1941–)
俄狄浦斯期	é dí pǔ sī qī	oedipal phase (psychology)
阿佛洛狄忒proper-noun	ā fú luò dí tè	Aphrodite, Greek goddess of love

Total compounds

As first character

As last character

As middle character

狄 appears in 22 compound words: 32 as the first character, 5 as the last, and 64 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.

Idioms & Chengyu (3)

俄狄浦斯Édípǔsī

Oedipus

康乃狄克Kāngnǎidíkè

(Taiwan) Connecticut (a state of the United States)

康涅狄格Kāngnièdígé

(Mainland China, Hong Kong) Connecticut (a state of the United States)

Example Sentences

中国新闻网·文化Jul 2026

天才少年狄少立志当“长安第一神探”，结果搭档是一只初来乍到的狼妖实习捕快阿萨。

tiān cái shǎo nián dí shǎo lì zhì dāng cháng ān dì yī shén tàn , jié guǒ dā dàng shì yī zhī chū lái zhà dào de láng yāo shí xí bǔ kuài ā sà .

Di Shao, a gifted young boy, aspires to become “Chang’an’s Number One Detective,” only to find that his partner is A-Sa, a wolf demon and rookie constable who has just arrived in town.

中国新闻网·文化May 2026

唐嫣狄权摄 2009年，《仙剑奇侠传三》让唐嫣被大众熟知。

táng 嫣 dí quán shè 2 0 0 9 nián , xiān jiàn qí xiá chuán sān ràng táng 嫣 bèi dà zhòng shú zhī .

Tang Yan, photographed by Di Quan. In 2009, *The Legend of Sword and Fairy III* brought Tang Yan to the public’s attention.

少数派May 2026

在到伦敦旅行的意念萌生之时，他正坐在火炉边读一本狄更斯的小说。

zài dào lún dūn lǚ xíng de yì niàn méng shēng zhī shí , tā zhèng zuò zài huǒ lú biān dú yī běn dí gèng sī de xiǎo shuō .

Just as the idea of traveling to London began to take shape, he was sitting by the fireplace reading a novel by Dickens.

Character Family

Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 犭 (animal) component

独dú 犯fàn 狂kuáng 狗gǒu 犹yóu 猛měng 猜cāi 猫māo 猎liè 狠hěn

Related Characters

狗gǒu 猫māo 猜cāi 猛měng 猩xīng 猾huá 狱yù 猎liè 猪zhū 状zhuàng

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 狄 (dí) mean in Chinese?

狄 (dí) primarily means "generic name for northern ethnic minorities during the qin and han dynasties (221 bc-220 ad)." It is not part of the HSK 3.0 syllabus. It ranks #2357 in character frequency.

What's the difference between 狄 and 第?

狄 (dí) and 第 (dì) are often confused. antonym. The key distinguishing feature: 狄 (low) vs 第 (high).

How many strokes does 狄 have?

狄 is written with 7 strokes. The correct stroke order matters for recognition and handwriting speed — practice with the animated guide above to build proper technique.

What is the radical of 狄?

The radical associated with 狄 is 犭 (dog). This radical appears in many characters related to dog.

What are the components of 狄?

狄 is composed of: 犭 (semantic), 火 (phonetic). Its IDS decomposition is ⿰犭火 with a left-right layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.

What are common words containing 狄?

Common words with 狄 include: 康涅狄格 (kāng niè dí gé, "Connecticut, US state"); 狄更斯 (dí gēng sī, "Dickens (name)"); 查尔斯·狄更斯 (chá ěr sī · dí gēng sī, "Charles Dickens (1812-1870), great English novelist"); 大唐狄公案 (dà táng dí gōng àn, "Three Murder Cases Solved by Judge Dee, 1949 novel by R.H. van Gulik, featuring Tang Dynasty politician Di Renjie 狄仁傑..."); 狄拉克 (dí lā kè, "P.A.M. Dirac (1902-1984), British physicist"). There are over 22 compound words containing this character.

Is 狄 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?

Yes, 狄 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 狄 with real-time feedback

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