的 (de) is a Chinese character meaning “structural particle: marks possession (my, your) or”. It is written from 白 (white; plain) and 勺 (spoon; ladle), side by side, and takes 8 strokes. It has a second reading, dì, which turns up in 目的 — here the two readings are two separate things to learn, not one card with two answers.
Build the character for “the particle that says whose it is”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
白 + 勺
Left–right structure
Structure from: IDS 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：白 5 画 + 勺 3 画 = 8 画）
Memory aid
A white (白) dish on the left, a spoon (勺) on the right. Point at the spoon and say whose it is: 我的 — mine.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 我的wǒ demy; mine的 = deHSK 1
- 谁的shéi dewhose的 = de
Go deeper
All readings
possessive / modifying particle
structural particle: marks possession (my, your) or attaches a description to a noun
结构助词，放在修饰语后面，表示领属或用来修饰后面的名词。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 我的wǒ demy; mine的 = deHSK 1
- 谁的shéi dewhose的 = de
target; aim
target; aim (only in a few words such as 目的)
箭靶的中心；引申为要达到的目标，只出现在少数词里。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 目的mù dìpurpose; goal的 = dìHSK 3
Rare readings, not taught: dí
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 的 mean?
的 (de) means structural particle: marks possession (my, your) or attaches a description to a noun.
How do you pronounce 的?
Its main reading is de. It also has a second reading, dì, which only shows up in certain words such as 目的 — so the word tells you the reading, not the character on its own.
Why is 的 sometimes pronounced dì?
Because it is a multi-reading character: each reading carries a different sense, and the word decides which one applies. In 目的 it is read dì.
What parts is 的 made of?
白 (white; plain) and 勺 (spoon; ladle), side by side. The recorded source is: IDS 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：白 5 画 + 勺 3 画 = 8 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 的 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 的?
白. 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 的?
Common ones are 我的. The reading of 的 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.