HSK 3 · Time

一定 yídìng “surely” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 一定 means

  1. surely
  2. certainly
  3. necessarily
  4. definite
  5. definitely
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • fixed
  • settled
  • a certain …
  • a given …

How to say 一定

  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale一yí2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale定dìng4th tone, falling

Tone change. 一 is yī on its own. Before a fourth tone it becomes yí, and before the other tones yì. Textbooks write the change in, as here. How tone changes work

一定 in a sentence

  1. 明天，一定要给我打电话。

    Míngtiān, yídìng yào gěi wǒ dǎ diànhuà.

    Be sure to call me tomorrow.

    Sentence #2393860 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 她一定是生病了。

    Tā yídìng shì shēngbìng le.

    She must be sick.

    Sentence #844516 from Tatoeba

  3. 大房子不一定适合住。

    Dà fángzi bù yídìng shìhé zhù.

    A big house isn’t necessarily comfortable to live in.

    Sentence #9970091 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 一定 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 一 (yī) drawn as one shape
一yīoneyí in 一定

一 is a single shape of 1 stroke. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

Memory aidOne stroke for one, the way people once counted with rods.

The character 定 (dìng) with each of its parts in a different colour
定dìngto fix; to set; to make definite
  • 宀roof · mián
  • 疋roll of cloth · pǐ

Memory aidA roof 宀 over 正 “upright”, squashed at the bottom so it looks like 疋: settled, fixed.

How to write 一定

一 1 strokes · 定 8 strokes

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

一定 (yídìng) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 一定 (yídìng). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 一定

Words with 一

一yī · one一半yībàn · half一些yīxiē · some一点儿yìdiǎnr · a little一起yìqǐ · together第一dìyī · first一下yíxià · (after a verb) briefly一般yìbān · general一共yígòng · altogether一样yíyàng · the same

Words with 定

决定juédìng · decide定dìng · to decide肯定kěndìng · to be certain规定guīdìng · to stipulate否定fǒudìng · to negate确定quèdìng · to confirm固定gùdìng · to fix制定zhìdìng · to draw up稳定wěndìng · steady说不定shuōbudìng · can’t say for sure

More words: Time

秋qiū · autumn突然tūrán · sudden夏xià · summer一般yìbān · general一共yígòng · altogether一会儿yíhuìr · a while一样yíyàng · the same一直yìzhí · always

FAQs

一定 (yídìng) means “surely” or “certainly”. It is an HSK 3 word.
Say it yídìng: yí with a 2nd tone, then dìng with a 4th tone. 一 is yī on its own. Before a fourth tone it becomes yí, and before the other tones yì. Textbooks write the change in, as here. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 一定 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type yiding with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 一定 from the suggestions. Typing yiding into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
一定 is an HSK 3 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

Turn words into conversations

A dictionary gives you the words. A native teacher shows you how to use them. Start with a free 30-minute intro call.

Book a free intro call

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.