Meaning
dozen; beat; strike; break; mix up; build
Chinese: 击打、做某动作。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “da” becomes a different word in each tone. 打 is the 2nd tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 打开dǎ kāito open; to show (a ticket); to turn on; to switch on
- 打电话dǎ diàn huàto make a telephone call
- 打球dǎ qiúto play ball; to play with a ball
- 打车dǎ chēto take a taxi (in town); to hitch a lift
- 打算dǎ suànto plan; to intend; to calculate; plan
Example Sentence
孩子们在院子里打篮球。Hái zi men zài yuàn zi lǐ dǎ lán qiú.The children are playing basketball in the yard.
孩子们Hái zi menchildren在zàiat院子yuàn zicourtyard里lǐinside打dǎ(loanword) dozen篮球lán qiúbasketball。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
The hand radical 扌 (meaning) plus 丁 (dīng, sound): an action of the hand — ‘to hit / strike’, also a general verb ‘to do’.
A way to remember it
A hand (扌) + the sound 丁 — to strike.
Easy to confuse with
- 丁‘Nail / fourth’: the right-hand sound part of 打, on its own.