大 dà — big; large; great
孩子在书声里一天一天长大。Hái zi zài shū shēng lǐ yì tiān yì tiān zhǎng dà.The child grows up day by day among the sounds of reading.
Common words: 大家 (dà jiā)、大学 (dà xué)、大学生 (dà xué shēng)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "big"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "big", including 大 (dà), 盘 (pán), 伟 (wěi), 硕 (shuò), 渠 (qú). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "big" covers 5 different Chinese characters — 大 (dà), 盘 (pán), 伟 (wěi), 硕 (shuò), 渠 (qú) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 5 characters do not share a sound — their readings span dà, pán, wěi, shuò, qú — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 大 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 大 dàbig; large; greatUseful words: 大家, 大学
- 盘 pánbig; wooden tray; dish; tray; to build; to checkUseful words: 盘子, 光盘
- 伟 wěibig; large; greatUseful words: 伟大, 雄伟
- 硕 shuòlarge; bigUseful words: 硕士, 硕果
- 渠 qúbig; stream or canal; drain; ditchUseful words: 渠道, 明渠
Common words for these 5 "big" characters
Anchor each of these 5 characters in a word you can picture — start with 大 (dà) — so "big" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
大家dà jiāeveryone; influential family; great expert大学dà xuéuniversity; college大学生dà xué shēnguniversity student; college student盘子pán zitray; plate; dish光盘guāng páncompact disc (CD); DVD; CD-ROM键盘jiàn pánkeyboard伟大wěi dàhuge; great; grand; worthy of the greatest admiration雄伟xióng wěigrand; imposing; magnificent; majestic宏伟hóng wěigrand; imposing; magnificent硕士shuò shìmaster's degree; person who has a master's degree; learned person
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 5 ways to say "big".
盘 pán — big; wooden tray; dish; tray; to build; to check
妈妈端来一盘热腾腾的饺子。Mā ma duān lái yì pán rè téng téng de jiǎo zi.Mom brought over a plate of steaming dumplings.
Common words: 盘子 (pán zi)、光盘 (guāng pán)、键盘 (jiàn pán)
伟 wěi — big; large; great
长城是一项伟大的工程。Cháng chéng shì yí xiàng wěi dà de gōng chéng.The Great Wall is a great project.
Common words: 伟大 (wěi dà)、雄伟 (xióng wěi)、宏伟 (hóng wěi)
硕 shuò — large; big
哥哥大学毕业后又读了硕士。Gē ge dà xué bì yè hòu yòu dú le shuò shì.After graduating from college, my brother went on to do a master degree.
Common words: 硕士 (shuò shì)、硕果 (shuò guǒ)、丰硕 (fēng shuò)
渠 qú — big; stream or canal; drain; ditch
农民挖了一条水渠，把河水引到田里。Nóng mín wā le yì tiáo shuǐ qú, bǎ hé shuǐ yǐn dào tián lǐ.The farmers dug a canal to channel river water into the fields.
Common words: 渠道 (qú dào)、明渠 (míng qú)、水渠 (shuǐ qú)
All 5 characters
Open 大、盘、伟 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.