How to Write 抵 (dǐ) — Meaning “to resist or support”

Imagine your hand (扌) pressing firmly against a solid base (氐) to resist someone pushing you, or to support your own weight. The picture of a hand holding a block helps you connect the shape to the meanings of both ‘resist’ and ‘support’.

Pay attention to the right component 氐: it begins with a small left-falling stroke (丿), not a horizontal stroke. A common mistake is writing it as 氏 (simple clan) instead of 氐, so remember the extra horizontal line inside 氐 after the left-falling stroke.

抵 (dǐ) means to resist or support, while 托 (tuō) means to hold in the palm or entrust, and its right part is 乇 (like a T shape). 㧜 is extremely rare and may be confused with 抵 in shape, but 抵 uses 氐 (with extra strokes) whereas 㧜 uses a different component, and their meanings are unrelated.

抵 appears in common words like 抵达 (dǐ dá, to arrive) when reaching a destination, 抵抗 (dǐ kàng, to resist) in conflict or immunity contexts, and 抵押 (dǐ yā, to mortgage) in banking. It also appears in formal phrases like 抵制 (dǐ zhì, to boycott). No special cultural note, but it is a higher-level HSK 6 character used in news and literature.

Common words containing 抵 include: 抵达 (dǐ dá) — to arrive; 抵抗 (dǐ kàng) — to resist; 抵押 (dǐ yā) — to mortgage.