到
dào
到 is not arrival. It is the instant your fingertips touch
The picture Reaching out until your fingertips land on the target. There is a line between not touching and touching.
Where the picture shows up in 到
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reaching a place
我八点就到公司了。
wǒ bā diǎn jiù dào gōngsī le
I got to the office by eight.
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reaching me
你收到我的邮件了吗？
nǐ shōu dào wǒ de yóujiàn le ma
Did my email reach you?
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not reaching it
那本书我没买到。
nà běn shū wǒ méi mǎi dào
I couldn't get hold of that book.
买了 says you did the buying; 买到了 says you actually walked away with it.
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the eye reaching it
我昨天在地铁上看到他了。
wǒ zuótiān zài dìtiě shang kàn dào tā le
I saw him on the subway yesterday.
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reaching a point in time
我们昨晚聊到十二点。
wǒmen zuówǎn liáo dào shí'èr diǎn
We talked until midnight last night.