的

音読おんよみ: テキ

訓読くんよみ: まと

画数かくすう: 8 strokes

部首ぶしゅ: 白(しろ)

Meaning

Target, objective. Also used as a grammatical suffix meaning "-like", "-al", or "-ic"


  • 目的もくてき — purpose, goal
  • まと — -like, -al (grammatical suffix)
  • 的確てきかく — precise, accurate
  • 文化的ぶんかてき — cultural
  • 歴史的れきしてき — historical
  • 美的びてき — aesthetic

Originally used to represent a target or bullseye. Over time, 的 also became a suffix in Chinese and Japanese for forming adjectives or abstract concepts (e.g., 科学的 = scientific). It is highly frequent in written Japanese due to this grammatical role.

かれかんがえは 論理ろんりてきです。
His thinking is logical.

まとたった!
It hit the target!

テキ is extremely common as a suffix, often transforming nouns into adjectives (e.g., 芸術 → 芸術的). The kun-yomi まと is used when referring to a literal target in archery, sports, or metaphorical use.

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