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对duìright; correct

HSK 1word

By Chinese Copilot · Last updated

对 (duì) means "right" or "correct," and as a preposition it means "towards," "at," or "for" a person or target. As an adjective it answers whether something is correct. As a preposition it marks who an action is directed at, as in 对我说 "say to me."

What does 对 mean?

  1. 1.

    right; correctadjective

  2. 2.

    towards; at; forpreposition

What does the character 对 mean?

  • 对right; correct

How do you use 对?

Grammar patterns

  1. 1

    Subj. + 对 + Person + Verb

    As a preposition, 对 marks the person or target an action is directed toward.

  2. 2

    …，对不对？

    Add 对不对 at the end of a statement to ask for confirmation, like English "right?"

对 as "correct" often answers a check; as a preposition it sits before the person, then the verb, not after the verb like English "to."

Patterns

  • 对 / 不对

    对，很好。

    Duì, hěn hǎo.

    Right, very good.

  • 对 + Person + 说

    请对老师说。

    Qǐng duì lǎoshī shuō.

    Please say it to the teacher.

What are some examples of 对 in a sentence?

  1. HSK 1

    对，他是老师。

    Duì, tā shì lǎoshī.

    Right—he is a teacher.

  2. HSK 1

    这个不对。

    Zhège bú duì.

    This is not correct.

  3. HSK 2

    他对我笑了。

    Tā duì wǒ xiào le.

    He smiled at me.

  4. HSK 1

    你是学生，对不对？

    Nǐ shì xuésheng, duì bu duì?

    You're a student, right?

How is 对 different from 和?

对 as a preposition marks the target of an action ("toward / to"). 和 (hé) joins nouns as "and" or "with," and does not mark who you speak or smile toward.

Only 对 fits here

他对我说。

Tā duì wǒ shuō.

He said it to me.

How is 对 used in a conversation?

  1. Speaker A:

    这个对不对？

    Zhège duì bu duì?

    Is this correct?

  2. Speaker B:

    对。

    Duì.

    Correct.

  3. Speaker A:

    你是老师，对不对？

    Nǐ shì lǎoshī, duì bu duì?

    You're a teacher, right?

  4. Speaker B:

    对，我是老师。

    Duì, wǒ shì lǎoshī.

    Right, I'm a teacher.

  5. Speaker A:

    你可以对他说吗？

    Nǐ kěyǐ duì tā shuō ma?

    Can you say it to him?

  6. Speaker B:

    可以，我会对他说。

    Kěyǐ, wǒ huì duì tā shuō.

    Yes, I'll say it to him.

Can you use 对 correctly?

0 of 3 answered
  1. 1.Fill in the blank: 这个___。
  2. 2.Fill in the blank to mean “He smiled at me”: 他___我笑了。
  3. 3.Which tag asks for confirmation like "right?"

What should you learn next?

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English glosses on this page are adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG (snapshot 2026-10-23), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Glosses were edited for learners.