Chinese symbol for “purpose”
目的
mù dì
purpose; aim; goal; target; objective
The closest CC-CEDICT match for purpose is 目的 (mù dì), defined as: purpose; aim; goal; target; objective.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Other Chinese words for “purpose”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 作用 | zuò yòng | to act on; to affect; action; function; activity |
| 宗 | zōng | school; sect |
| 意向 | yì xiàng | intention; purpose |
| 旨 | zhǐ | imperial decree; purport |
| 针对性 (針對性) | zhēn duì xìng | focus; direction |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 目的.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 目前 | mù qián | at the present time; currently |
| 项目 (項目) | xiàng mù | item; project; (sports) event |
| 目标 (目標) | mù biāo | target; goal |
| 节目 (節目) | jié mù | (TV or radio) program; show; item; act; segment; number (on the program of a concert, variety show or cultural event) |
| 目录 (目錄) | mù lù | catalog; table of contents |
| 真的 | zhēn de | really; truly; indeed; real; true; genuine |
| 的话 (的話) | de huà | if (coming after a conditional clause) |
| 的确 (的確) | dí què | really; indeed |
See also: Japanese symbol for “purpose”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.