对待(duì dài) - to treat, to deal with, to approach (a person or matter) in Mandarin

对待 (duì dài) is how you behave towards someone or something: fairly, harshly, seriously. It takes a person or an abstract matter as its object, and the manner usually comes in front of the verb, as in 认真对待 (rèn zhēn duì dài) or 公平地对待 (gōng píng de duì dài).

English "treat" spreads across jobs that Mandarin splits up. For treating an illness use 治疗 (zhì liáo); for treating someone to a meal use 请客 (qǐng kè); for dealing with a task or a problem in the practical sense use 处理 (chǔ lǐ). 对待 (duì dài) is only the attitude sense.

Do not confuse it with the simple preposition 对 (duì). 他对我很好 (tā duì wǒ hěn hǎo) means he is good to me, and that is the ordinary way to say it. 对待 (duì dài) is a full verb and wants a manner attached, so it carries more weight and a slightly more formal tone.