How to Write 谛 (dì) — Meaning “truth; to examine closely”

Imagine an emperor (帝) using speech (讠) to listen very carefully to his advisors in order to uncover the truth. This mental picture helps you recall that 谛 means both 'truth' and 'to listen attentively' (as in 谛听).

Write the left radical 讠 first: a dot followed by a horizontal line with a hook. Then the right side 帝: start with a dot, then horizontal, then a short left-falling stroke, then another horizontal, a vertical line, a horizontal, a vertical hook, and finally two small dots. A common mistake is forgetting the top dot of 帝 or making the right side too wide.

诫 (jiè) means 'to warn' or 'admonish' and has 戒 (to abstain) on the right, while 诬 (wū) means 'to falsely accuse' and has 巫 (witch). In contrast, 谛 (dì) uses 帝 (emperor) on the right, so it focuses on truth and careful examination. Their right-side components give completely different meanings.

This character appears in formal or literary words like 真谛 (zhēn dì, true essence) and 谛听 (dì tīng, to listen attentively). In Buddhist culture, 谛 is especially important as it refers to the Four Noble Truths (四谛), a core teaching. It is rarely used in casual conversation, so you will mainly encounter it in philosophical or serious discussions.

Common words containing 谛 include: 真谛 (zhēn dì) — true essence; true meaning; 谛听 (dì tīng) — to listen attentively; 妙谛 (miào dì) — Profound truth.