Chinese word

打

Pronunciation

Pinyindǎ

Meaning

  • verbhit

Example

他用拳头打了对方。tā yòng quán tou dǎ le duì fāng

He hit the other person with his fist.

Illustration for 打 (hit)

More examples

我想给公司打电话问一下情况。wǒ xiǎng gěi gōng sī dǎ diàn huà wèn yí xià qíng kuàng

I want to call the company and ask about the situation.

Core concept

A quick, directed move makes contact with a person or thing and extends to launching a practical action.

Common phrases

  • 打电话dǎ diàn huà

    call

  • 打球dǎ qiú

    play ball

Similar words

拍pāi: Gently taps a person or object with the palm or hand.
碰pèng: Makes contact with a person or object through a light bump or brief touch.
撞zhuàng: Collides forcefully with a person or object, sometimes causing damage.
敲qiāo: Strikes a surface with the hand or a tool to make a sound.

Definition in Chinese

表示用手或借助工具发起或执行短促的动作或行为，扩展为表示实施某种操作或联系他人的通用动词，如打电话、打字、打车等。biǎo shì yòng shǒu huò jiè zhù gōng jù fā qǐ huò zhí xíng duǎn cù de dòng zuò huò xíng wéi kuò zhǎn wèi biǎo shì shí shī móu zhǒng cāo zuò huò lián xì tā rén de tōng yòng dòng cí rú dǎ diàn huà dǎ zì dǎ chē děng

Word origin

The character 打 (dǎ, "to hit") uses 扌 (shǒu, "hand") for the action idea and 丁 (dīng, "nail") for the sound, reflecting its starting point in a hand-directed action.

Usage tips

  • The same Chinese verb can appear with many different kinds of objects, while English usually changes the verb, so the surrounding object is an important clue to the intended meaning.

Other meanings

  • callverb
  • typeverb
  • hail a taxiverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word