How to Say “Until” with 到 (dào)
到 (dào) after a verb works like “until”: Verb + 到 + Time / Event. 聊到半夜 (“chat until midnight”), 玩到几点 (“play until what time”). Add 一直 before the verb to stress the ongoing duration (一直聊到半夜). The catch: if the verb has an object, the verb repeats before 到, 写作业写到十二点 (“do homework until twelve”). The endpoint can even be a whole event, 一直吃到关门 (“eat until closing”).
Why this trips learners up
Put 到 (dào) right after a verb and it works like the English word “until,” marking the end point a continuous action runs to: Verb + 到 + Time / Event. 你们要玩到几点？ (“until what time are you playing?”), 我们聊到半夜 (“we chatted until midnight”), 昨天的会开到晚上九点 (“yesterday's meeting ran until 9pm”). This is a complement, it sits after the verb, unlike English “until,” which comes before the time.
You'll often see 一直 (yīzhí) before the verb, adding a sense of the action going on the whole time: 我们在酒吧一直聊到半夜 (“we kept chatting in the bar right up until midnight”). And the endpoint after 到 doesn't have to be a clock time. It can be a vague time, 你要住到什么时候？ (“until when are you staying?”), or a whole event, 我们一直吃到火锅店关门 (“we ate until the hotpot place closed”), 他一直打游戏，打到他妈妈回家 (“he kept gaming until his mum got home”).
Here's the piece that trips learners up: verb-copying. When the verb has an object, you can't just tack 到 on after the object, the verb repeats: [Verb + Object] + Verb + 到 + Time. “Wait for you until midnight” is 等你等到半夜 (not 等你到半夜), “do homework until 12:30” is 写作业写到十二点半, “phone someone until the battery dies” is 打电话打到手机没电. The object stays with the first verb; a fresh copy of the verb carries the 到.
Two things to keep apart. Don't reach for 直到 (zhìdào) here: 直到 fronts a clause to mean “not until…” (直到昨天我才知道, “not until yesterday did I find out”), whereas this 到 is a post-verbal complement giving where a continuous action stops. And it's not 从…到… either: 从…到… maps both ends of a range (从九点到五点, “from 9 to 5”), while 到 on its own names only the finish line. Quick test: if you're saying how long an action keeps going before it stops, it's Verb + 到 + [that end point], and if the verb has an object, say the verb twice.
The structure
Colour key
Each colour marks one grammatical role — and the same colour means the same role on every page in the Lab.
Examples in context
Real-world sentences, easiest first. Toggle pinyin or the translation, tap any word to see its role, or play the audio.
Tap a word to see its grammatical role.
nǐmen 你们 Subject yào 要 Function word wán 玩 Verb dào 到 Pattern jǐ diǎn 几点 Time
Until what time are you going to play? (bare verb + 到 + a time question).
wǒmen 我们 Subject liáo 聊 Verb dào 到 Pattern bànyè 半夜 Time
We chatted until midnight (bare verb + 到 + a time).
zuótiān de huì 昨天的会 Subject yīzhí 一直 Adverb kāi 开 Verb dào 到 Pattern wǎnshang jiǔ diǎn 晚上九点 Time
Yesterday's meeting ran until 9pm (一直 + verb + 到 + clock time).
nǐ 你 Subject yào 要 Function word zài zhèlǐ 在这里 Place zhù 住 Verb dào 到 Pattern shénme shíhou 什么时候 Time
Until when are you staying here? (到 + a vague time).
wǒmen 我们 Subject yīzhí 一直 Adverb chī 吃 Verb dào 到 Pattern huǒguō diàn guānmén 火锅店关门 Other
We ate until the hotpot place closed (一直 + verb + 到 + an event endpoint).
wǒmen 我们 Subject děng 等 Verb nǐ 你 Object děng 等 Verb dào 到 Pattern bànyè 半夜 Time
We waited for you until midnight (verb-copying: 等你等到).
tā 他 Subject zuótiān 昨天 Time xiě 写 Verb zuòyè 作业 Object xiě 写 Verb dào 到 Pattern shí’èr diǎn bàn 十二点半 Time
He did homework until 12:30 last night (verb-copying + a clock time).
tā 她 Subject gěi nánpéngyou 给男朋友 Other dǎ 打 Verb diànhuà 电话 Object dǎ 打 Verb dào 到 Pattern shǒujī méi diàn 手机没电 Other
She was on the phone until her battery died (verb-copying + an event endpoint).
Common mistakes
Why it happens: When the verb has an object, the verb has to repeat before 到. “I did homework until twelve” is 我写作业写到十二点, not 我写作业到十二点. The object (作业) stays with the first verb, then a second copy of the verb (写) carries the 到 complement.
Why it happens: 一直 goes before the verb, not before 到. “We chatted right up until midnight” is 我们一直聊到半夜, not 我们聊一直到半夜. 一直 stresses the duration of the action, so it sits with the verb, and 到 stays glued to the verb.
Why it happens: The post-verbal “until” complement is 到, not 直到. “We chatted until midnight” is 我们聊到半夜, not 我们聊直到半夜. 直到 fronts a clause (“not until…”, 直到半夜我才睡), but the end point of an ongoing action is plain 到 right after the verb.
Compare & contrast
| Bare verb: Verb + 到 + time | Verb + object: [V + O] + V + 到 + time | The difference |
|---|---|---|
| 我们聊到半夜wǒmen liáo dào bànyè = “we chatted until midnight” (bare verb, just Verb + 到) | 我们聊天聊到半夜wǒmen liáotiān liáo dào bànyè = “we chatted until midnight” (object 天 forces 聊 to repeat before 到) | 我们聊到半夜 = “we chatted until midnight,” a bare verb taking 到 directly. 我们聊天聊到半夜 = same meaning, but the object 天 forces 聊 to repeat before 到. Add an object, copy the verb. |
| 他玩到很晚tā wán dào hěn wǎn = “he played until late” (bare verb + 到) | 他玩游戏玩到很晚tā wán yóuxì wán dào hěn wǎn = “he played games until late” (object 游戏 makes 玩 repeat) | 他玩到很晚 = “he played until late,” bare verb + 到. 他玩游戏玩到很晚 = “he played games until late,” where the object 游戏 makes 玩 repeat. The 到 always rides on a verb with no object attached. |
Try it yourself
Say “He did homework until midnight.” The object forces the verb to repeat: 写作业写到…
Related patterns
Quick reference card
How to Say “Until” with 到 (dào) grammar.merrymandarin.com A pocket summary — print it and keep it by your desk.