达到
dádào · HSK 3
to reach; to achieve; to attain
🎯 达 = arrive/reach + 到 = arrive — doubled 'arrive' = reach/attain a goal
Both characters mean 'arrive', stacked for emphasis: you've not just gone toward something, you've reached it. Use 达到 for hitting targets, levels, or standards (达到目标 = reach the goal).
到 — 刂 knife + 至 (phonetic, 'arrive')
到 is a semantic-phonetic compound. 至 ('to arrive') gives both meaning and sound, while 刂 (knife) was added later, likely as a phonetic reinforcer or to distinguish the written form. The core sense 'to arrive, reach' comes directly from 至, and 到 has carried that meaning since early script forms.