HSK 5 · Adjectives

独特 dútè “unique” in Chinese

Traditional 獨特

What 独特 means

  1. unique
  2. distinctive

How to say 独特

  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale独dú2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale特tè4th tone, falling

独特 in a sentence

  1. 柠檬有独特的味道。

    Níngméng yǒu dútè de wèidao.

    Lemons have a distinctive flavour.

    Sentence #2806363 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

  2. 这些花有一种独特的气味。

    Zhèxiē huā yǒu yìzhǒng dútè de qìwèi.

    These flowers have a distinctive smell.

    Sentence #869908 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

  3. 指纹都是独特的。

    Zhǐwén dōu shì dútè de.

    Fingerprints are unique.

    Sentence #13214811 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters

How 独特 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 独 (dú) with each of its parts in a different colour
独dúalone
  • 犭dog form of 犬 · quǎnMeaning part
  • 虫insect · chóngSound part

犭 hints at the meaning (dog); 虫 (chóng) hints at the sound. Compare it with dú.

The character 特 (tè) with each of its parts in a different colour
特tèspecial
  • 牛cow · niúMeaning part
  • 寺court · sìSound part

牛 hints at the meaning (cow); 寺 (sì) hints at the sound. Compare it with tè.

How to write 独特

独 9 strokes · 特 10 strokes

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

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

Words related to 独特

Words with 独

独立dúlì · independent单独dāndú · alone孤独gūdú · lonely独裁dúcái · dictatorship唯独wéidú · only得天独厚détiāndúhòu · richly endowed by nature

Words with 特

特别tèbié · special特点tèdiǎn · characteristic (feature)特殊tèshū · special模特mótè · (fashion) model特色tèsè · distinctive feature特征tèzhēng · characteristic特定tèdìng · specific特长tècháng · strength特意tèyì · specially

More words: Adjectives

软ruǎn · soft淘气táoqì · naughty调皮tiáopí · naughty独立dúlì · independent多余duōyú · superfluous恶劣èliè · vile发达fādá · well-developed繁荣fánróng · prosperous

FAQs

独特 (dútè) means “unique” or “distinctive”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it dútè: dú with a 2nd tone, then tè with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 独特 is written 獨特. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type dute with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 独特 from the suggestions. Typing dute into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
独特 is an HSK 5 word in the 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.