How to Write 敌 (dí) — Meaning “Enemy; foe”

Imagine your enemy is a person with a long tongue (舌) who is constantly striking at you (攵). This visual of a tongue attacking you helps link the components to the meaning of 'enemy'.

When writing 敌, note that the left component 舌 has a horizontal stroke at the top, not a dot. Also, the radical 攵 on the right is written with a left-falling stroke (撇) first, then a horizontal stroke, and finally a right-falling stroke (捺).

敌 (dí, enemy) has 舌 on the left, while 放 (fàng, to release) uses 方 (square) and 政 (zhèng, government) uses 正 (correct). Their pronunciations and meanings are completely different, so focus on the left-side component to tell them apart.

敌 is common in formal, military, or political contexts, such as 敌人 (enemy) or 敌对 (hostile). In everyday conversation, Chinese speakers often avoid using this strong word directly and instead use softer terms like 对手 (opponent) or 不喜欢的人 (someone they don't like).

Common words containing 敌 include: 敌人 (dí rén) — Enemy; 敌对 (dí duì) — Hostile; antagonistic; 强敌 (qiáng dí) — Powerful enemy.