定 (dìng): to decide, fixed
定 (dìng) is a Chinese character meaning “to decide, fixed.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 宀 (structural) and 疋 (structural). It ranks #77 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 定 a person 疋 settling under a roof 宀. Its radical form 宀 (roof) appears in many related characters such as 客 (kè, guest, customer), 家 (jiā, home, family), 它 (tā, it).
Definitions
- to decide, fixed
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA person 疋 settling under a roof 宀
Decomposition: ⿱宀疋 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 定 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 定
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 一定adjective/adverb | yī dìng | surely | 3 |
| 肯定verb/adjective/adverb | kěn dìng | to be certain | 4 |
| 决定verb/noun | jué dìng | to decide (to do something) | 3 |
| 确定adjective/verb | què dìng | definite | 5 |
| 规定verb/noun | guī dìng | to stipulate | 4 |
| 稳定adjective/verb | wěn dìng | steady | 5 |
| 说不定verb/adverb | shuō bu dìng | can't say for sure | 5 |
| 定位verb/noun | dìng wèi | to orientate | 6 |
| 固定verb | gù dìng | to fix | 5 |
| 约定verb | yuē dìng | to agree on sth (after discussion) | 5 |
| 定义noun/verb | dìng yì | definition | 6 |
| 预定verb | yù dìng | to schedule in advance | 6 |
| 认定verb | rèn dìng | to maintain (that sth is true) | 6 |
| 指定verb | zhǐ dìng | to appoint | 6 |
| 鉴定verb/noun | jiàn dìng | to examine sth to determine its authenticity, quality, value etc | 6 |
| 制定 | zhì dìng | to draw up | 5 |
| 坚定adjective/verb | jiān dìng | firm | 6 |
| 特定adjective | tè dìng | special | 6 |
| 否定verb/adjective | fǒu dìng | to negate | 5 |
| 法定adjective | fǎ dìng | statutory | 6 |
| 定期verb/adjective | dìng qī | at set dates | 5 |
| 定制verb | dìng zhì | custom-made | 6 |
| 定时verb/noun | dìng shí | to fix a time | 6 |
| 定价verb/noun | dìng jià | to set a price | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 安定 | ān dìng | stable |
| 定下 | dìng xià | to set (the tone, a target etc) |
| 必定 | bì dìng | to be bound to |
| 定律 | dìng lǜ | scientific law (e.g. law of conservation of energy) |
| 裁定 | cái dìng | ruling |
| 定论 | dìng lùn | final conclusion |
| 定居 | dìng jū | to settle (in some city, country etc) |
| 定金 | dìng jīn | down payment |
定 appears in 100 compound words: 67 as the first character, 33 as the last, and 0 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 定 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (32)
morning and evening visits to parents; cf 昏定晨省[hun1 ding4 chen2 xing3]
to judge the accomplishments and faults of a person after their death; to reach a final decision or conclusion
to judge the accomplishments and faults of a person after their death; to reach a final decision or conclusion
morning and evening visits to parents; cf 昏定晨省[hun1 ding4 chen2 xing3]
to judge the accomplishments and faults of a person after their death; to reach a final decision or conclusion
Showing 12 of 32 idioms containing 定.
Example Sentences
会议时间定在下周三上午十点，请大家准时参加。
Huìyì shíjiān dìng zài xià zhōusān shàngwǔ shí diǎn, qǐng dàjiā zhǔnshí cānjiā.
The meeting is scheduled for next Wednesday at 10 AM; please attend on time.
“民歌50”唱进湾区,共赴岁月的约定
mín gē 5 0 chàng jìn wān qū , gòng fù suì yuè de yuē dìng
"Folk Song 50" sung into the Bay Area and went to the agreement of the years
强词有理:中国最淡定
qiáng cí yǒu lǐ : zhōng guó zuì dàn dìng
The strong words are reasonable: China is the calmest
...加征15%关税立即生效 全球贸易重返不确定性时代
. . . jiā zhēng 1 5 guān shuì lì jí shēng xiào quán qiú mào yì chóng fǎn bù què dìng xìng shí dài
... The 15% tariff will take effect immediately, and global trade will return to an era of uncertainty
...江宁春节再传佳讯!全球首款轻量化肝脏脂肪定量检..
. . . jiāng nìng chūn jié zài chuán jiā xùn ! quán qiú shǒu kuǎn qīng liáng huā gān zāng zhī fáng dìng liáng jiǎn . .
Jiangning Delivers More Good News for Spring Festival! World's First Lightweight Liver Fat Quantification Device...
永定河山峡段4座梯级水电站累计发电破100亿...
yǒng dìng hé shān xiá duàn zuò tī jí shuǐ diàn zhàn lěi jì fā diàn pò yì . . .
Cumulative power generation from the four cascade hydropower stations along the Yongding River's mountainous gorge section has surpassed 10 billion kilowatt-hours...
我为什么一定要那么做？
Wǒ wèishénme yīdìngyào nàme zuò?
Why do I have to do that?
我能预定一下打高尔夫球吗？
Wǒ néng yùdìng yīxià dǎgāo'ěrfūqiú ma?
Can I make a reservation for golf?
这封信一定要用英文写吗？
Zhè fēng xìn yīdìngyào yòng Yīngwén xiě ma?
Must this letter be written in English?
你决定去日本了吗？
Nǐ juédìng qù Rìběn le ma?
Did you decide to go to Japan?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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Is 定 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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