得 (dé) is a Chinese character meaning “to get”. It is written from 彳 (a short step; the “double-person” left side) and 㝵 (the right side of 得: 日 over a horizontal stroke over 寸), side by side, and takes 11 strokes. It has a second reading, de, which turns up in 觉得 — here the two readings are two separate things to learn, not one card with two answers.
Build the character for “to get”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
彳 + 㝵
Left–right structure
- 彳 a short step; the “double-person” left side · chì meaning
- 㝵 the right side of 得: 日 over a horizontal stroke over 寸 · dé sound
Structure from: 说文解字: 得，行有所得也。从彳㝵聲
Memory aid
Take a short step (彳) toward the prize on the right (㝵) and it is yours: you get it.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 获得huò déto obtain; to gain; to win得 = dé
- 值得zhí déto be worth; to deserve得 = dé
- 得啦dé laall right; that's enough (said to stop or agree)得 = dé
- 得逞dé chěngto succeed (in a bad scheme)得 = dé
Go deeper
All readings
to get
to get; to obtain; to gain
得到；获得。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 获得huò déto obtain; to gain; to win得 = dé
- 值得zhí déto be worth; to deserve得 = dé
- 得啦dé laall right; that's enough (said to stop or agree)得 = dé
- 得逞dé chěngto succeed (in a bad scheme)得 = dé
(unstressed de)
unstressed de: particle linking a verb to a complement (as in 跑得快); also unstressed in words such as 觉得
轻声，用在动词后连接补语（如「跑得快」）；也见于「觉得」等词中。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 觉得jué deto feel; to think得 = de
- 舍得shě deto be willing to part with得 = de
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 得 mean?
得 (dé) means to get; to obtain; to gain.
How do you pronounce 得?
Its main reading is dé. It also has a second reading, de, which only shows up in certain words such as 觉得 — so the word tells you the reading, not the character on its own.
Why is 得 sometimes pronounced de?
Because it is a multi-reading character: each reading carries a different sense, and the word decides which one applies. In 觉得 it is read de.
What parts is 得 made of?
彳 (a short step; the “double-person” left side) and 㝵 (the right side of 得: 日 over a horizontal stroke over 寸), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 得，行有所得也。从彳㝵聲. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 得 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 得?
彳. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 得?
Common ones are 获得 and 值得. The reading of 得 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.