# 到底
## Chinese
### Pronunciation

* Mandarin
    (Pinyin): dàodǐ
    (Zhuyin): ㄉㄠˋ ㄉㄧˇ
* Cantonese (Jyutping): dou$^3$ dai$^2$
* Gan (Wiktionary): dau$^4$ di
* Hakka
    (Sixian, PFS): to-tái
    (Meixian, Guangdong): dau$^4$ dai$^3$
* Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): tò-tí / tò͘-tí / tàu-tí / tàu-té / tàu-tóe / kàu-tóe / kàu-té
* Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): $^5$tau-ti
* Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): dau$^4$ di$^3$
* Mandarin
** (Standard Chinese)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: dàodǐ
*** Zhuyin: ㄉㄠˋ ㄉㄧˇ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: dàodǐ
*** Wade–Giles: tao$^4$-ti$^3$
*** Yale: dàu-dǐ
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: dawdii
*** Palladius: даоди (daodi)
*** Sinological IPA : /tɑʊ̯⁵¹ ti²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: dou$^3$ dai$^2$
*** Yale: dou dái
*** Cantonese Pinyin: dou$^3$ dai$^2$
*** Guangdong Romanization: dou$^3$ dei$^2$
*** Sinological IPA : /tou̯³³ tɐi̯³⁵/
* Gan
** (Nanchang)
*** Wiktionary: dau$^4$ di
*** Sinological IPA : /tau³⁵ ti²/
* Hakka
** (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
*** Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: to-tái
*** Hakka Romanization System: do dai$^ˋ$
*** Hagfa Pinyim: do$^4$ dai$^3$
*** Sinological IPA: /to⁵⁵ tai̯³¹/
** (Meixian)
*** Guangdong: dau$^4$ dai$^3$
*** Sinological IPA: /tau⁵³⁻⁵⁵ taɪ³¹/
* Southern Min
** (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tò-tí
*** Tâi-lô: tò-tí
*** Phofsit Daibuun: doirdie
*** IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /to²¹⁻⁵³ ti⁵³/
** (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tò͘-tí
*** Tâi-lô: tòo-tí
*** Phofsit Daibuun: dordie
*** IPA (Quanzhou): /tɔ⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ ti⁵⁵⁴/
** (Hokkien: Quanzhou, variant in Taiwan, Philippines)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tàu-tí
*** Tâi-lô: tàu-tí
*** Phofsit Daibuun: dao'die
*** IPA (Quanzhou, Philippines): /tau⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ ti⁵⁵⁴/
*** IPA (Taipei): /tau¹¹⁻⁵³ ti⁵³/
*** IPA (Kaohsiung): /tau²¹⁻⁴¹ ti⁴¹/
** (Hokkien: Kaohsiung)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tàu-té
*** Tâi-lô: tàu-té
*** Phofsit Daibuun: dao'dea
*** IPA (Kaohsiung): /tau²¹⁻⁴¹ te⁴¹/
** (Hokkien: Taipei, Singapore)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tàu-tóe
*** Tâi-lô: tàu-tué
*** Phofsit Daibuun: dao'doea
*** IPA (Taipei): /tau¹¹⁻⁵³ tue⁵³/
*** IPA (Singapore): /tau²¹⁻⁴² tue⁴²/
** (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, variant in Taiwan)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kàu-tóe
*** Tâi-lô: kàu-tué
*** Phofsit Daibuun: kao'doea
*** IPA (Xiamen): /kau²¹⁻⁵³ tue⁵³/
*** IPA (Taipei): /kau¹¹⁻⁵³ tue⁵³/
*** IPA (Quanzhou): /kau⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ tue⁵⁵⁴/
** (Hokkien: Zhangzhou, variant in Taiwan)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kàu-té
*** Tâi-lô: kàu-té
*** Phofsit Daibuun: kao'dea
*** IPA (Kaohsiung): /kau²¹⁻⁴¹ te⁴¹/
*** IPA (Zhangzhou): /kau²¹⁻⁵³ te⁵³/
* Wu
** (Northern: Shanghai)
*** Wugniu: $^5$tau-ti
*** MiniDict: tau$^去$ ti
*** Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): $^2$tau-ti
*** Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /tɔ³³ ti⁴⁴/
* Xiang
** (Changsha)
*** Wiktionary: dau$^4$ di$^3$
*** Sinological IPA : /tɒu̯⁴⁵ ti⁴¹/

### Adverb

到底
* actually; exactly; are or are not
       Dàodǐ chū shénme shì le? [Pinyin]
       What happened?
       Nǐ dàodǐ ài bù ài wǒ? [Pinyin]
       Do you love me or not?
       Wǒ xiǎng kànkàn zhēnzhèng de Zhōngguó dàodǐ shì ge shénme yàngzǐ. [Pinyin]
       I want to see what the real China is like.
* after all; in the end; all in all
* finally; in the end; when all is said and done
       Líyì jiātíng dàodǐ háishì huì yǐngxiǎng dào háizi. [Pinyin]
       Children from divorced families will be affected in the end.
* until the end; to the finish; until something is done
       Jìrán yǐjīng bāngzhù tā le, jiù suǒxìng bāng dàodǐ. [Pinyin]
       Since we've already helped him out, we might as well help until the job is done.
    From: 1940, 毛澤東 (Mao Zedong), 《新民主主義論》 (On New Democracy), 《毛澤東選集》. English translation based on the Foreign Languages Press edition
    Wǒmen jiāng hé suǒyǒu yuànyì kàngrì dàodǐ de jiējí, jiēcéng, zhèngdǎng, zhèngtuán yǐjí gèrén, jiānchí tǒngyī zhànxiàn, shíxíng chángqī hézuò. [Pinyin]
    We shall persevere in the united front and practice long-term co-operation with all those classes, strata, political parties and groups and individuals that are willing to fight Japan to the end.

#### Synonyms

* (actually): 究竟 (jiūjìng)
* (after all):
* 畢竟／毕竟 (bìjìng)
* 究竟 (jiūjìng)
* (finally):
* 到尾 (Eastern Min)
* 卒之 (zeot$^1$ zi$^1$) (Cantonese)
* 始終／始终 (shǐzhōng)
* 算是 (suànshì)
* 終／终 (zhōng) (literary, or in compounds)
* 終久／终久 (zhōngjiǔ)
* 終於／终于 (zhōngyú)
* 終歸／终归 (zhōngguī)
* 終究／终究 (zhōngjiū)
* 終須／终须 (zung$^1$ seoi$^1$) (Cantonese)
* 總是／总是 (zǒngshì)
* 總歸／总归 (zǒngguī)
* 總算／总算 (zǒngsuàn)
* 高低 (gāodī)

#### Derived terms

* 打破砂鍋問到底／打破砂锅问到底 (dǎpò shāguō wèn dàodǐ)
* 歸根到底／归根到底 (guīgēndàodǐ)
* 說到底／说到底 (shuōdàodǐ)

#### References

* (Min Nan) “Entry #3641”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2024.

## Japanese

Kanji in this term :
| 到 | 底 |
| とう Grade: S | てい Grade: 4 |
| on'yomi ||

### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) とーてー [tòótéé] (Heiban – [0])
* IPA: [to̞ːte̞ː]

### Adverb

到(とう)底(てい) • (tōtei)
* absolutely, (with negative verb) possibly (as in "couldn't possibly"), utterly
** 1908, Natsume Sōseki, Yume Jūya [Ten Nights of Dreaming]‎:
    とうてい死(し)にそうには見(み)えない。
       Tōtei shinisō ni wa mienai.
       It didn't appear possible that [she] was about to die.

### References

* ↑ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
* 2002, Ineko Kondō; Fumi Takano; Mary E Althaus; et. al., Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary, Third Edition, Tokyo: Shōgakukan, →ISBN.