达到(dá dào) - to reach, to achieve, to attain in Mandarin

达到 (dá dào) is reaching a figure, a level, a standard or an aim. Temperatures, targets, speeds, requirements and ages all 达到 something: 达到目标, 达到标准, 达到八十公里.

Its object is always abstract or numerical. That is the whole distinction the learner needs, because Chinese has a near twin with the characters the other way round: 到达 (dào dá) is arriving at a place. 飞机到达北京, the plane arrives in Beijing; 温度达到零下十度, the temperature reaches minus ten.

The trap, then, is character order. English uses reach for both senses, so the two compounds feel interchangeable and are not. If you can point at the destination on a map, use 到达 or simply 到. If you would write it as a number or a benchmark, use 达到.