HSK 3.0 Band 3 list · Thinking

想到 xiǎngdào “to think of” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 想到 means

  1. to think of
  2. to come up with
  3. to call to mind
  4. to anticipate

How to say 想到

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale想xiǎng3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale到dào4th tone, falling

想到 in a sentence

  1. 他想到一个好主意。

    Tā xiǎngdào yí ge hǎo zhǔyi.

    He came up with a good idea.

    Sentence #8765235 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 我马上想到了你！

    Wǒ mǎshàng xiǎngdào le nǐ!

    I thought of you straight away!

    Sentence #1244674 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 我突然想到一件事。

    Wǒ tūrán xiǎngdào yí jiàn shì.

    Something just occurred to me.

    Sentence #13551881 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 想到 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 想 (xiǎng) with each of its parts in a different colour
想xiǎngto think
  • 相mutual · xiāngSound part
  • 心heart · xīnMeaning part

心 hints at the meaning (heart); 相 (xiāng) hints at the sound. Compare it with xiǎng.

Memory aid相 means to look at closely. Add the heart 心 and you picture something in your mind: to think.

The character 到 (dào) with each of its parts in a different colour
到dàoto reach; to arrive
  • 至arrive · zhìMeaning part
  • 刂knife form of 刀 · dāoSound part

至 hints at the meaning (arrive); 刂 (dāo) hints at the sound. Compare it with dào.

Memory aidArrive 至 gives the meaning; the knife 刂 (刀 dāo) gives the sound: to arrive.

How to write 想到

想 13 strokes · 到 8 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

想到 (xiǎngdào) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 想到 (xiǎngdào). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 想到

Words with 想

想xiǎng · to want理想lǐxiǎng · an ideal感想gǎnxiǎng · impressions幻想huànxiǎng · to fantasise思想sīxiǎng · thought想念xiǎngniàn · to miss想象xiǎngxiàng · to imagine梦想mèngxiǎng · dream空想kōngxiǎng · fantasy联想liánxiǎng · to associate (ideas)

Words with 到

到dào · to迟到chídào · arrive late遇到yùdào · to meet感到gǎndào · to feel见到jiàndào · to see做到zuòdào · to accomplish直到zhídào · until得到dédào · to get收到shōudào · to receive受到shòudào · to receive (praise

More words: Thinking & Feeling

感到gǎndào · to feel怕pà · to fear记jì · to remember关注guānzhù · to pay close attention to喜爱xǐ'ài · to like认得rènde · to recognise心xīn · heart感gǎn · (suffix) sense of …

FAQs

想到 (xiǎngdào) means “to think of” or “to come up with”. It is on our HSK 3.0 Band 3 word list.
Say it xiǎngdào: xiǎng with a 3rd tone, then dào with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 想到 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type xiangdao with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 想到 from the suggestions. Typing xiangdao into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
想到 is not listed as a separate word in the official 2021 HSK 3.0 syllabus, but it is on our HSK 3.0 Band 3 word list. It is not on the older HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.