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 "large"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "large", including 大 (dà), 伟 (wěi), 曼 (màn), 鸿 (hóng), 硕 (shuò). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "large" covers 5 different Chinese characters — 大 (dà), 伟 (wěi), 曼 (màn), 鸿 (hóng), 硕 (shuò) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 5 characters do not share a sound — their readings span dà, wěi, màn, hóng, shuò — 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
- 伟 wěibig; large; greatUseful words: 伟大, 雄伟
- 曼 mànhandsome; large; longUseful words: 曼波, 伊曼
- 鸿 hóngeastern bean goose; great; largeUseful words: 来鸿, 飞鸿
- 硕 shuòlarge; bigUseful words: 硕士, 硕果
Common words for these 5 "large" characters
Anchor each of these 5 characters in a word you can picture — start with 大 (dà) — so "large" 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伟大wěi dàhuge; great; grand; worthy of the greatest admiration雄伟xióng wěigrand; imposing; magnificent; majestic宏伟hóng wěigrand; imposing; magnificent曼波màn bō(loanword) mambo (dance)伊曼yī mànsee 伊玛目罗曼使luó màn shǐromance; love affair; more commonly written 罗曼史来鸿lái hóngincoming letter (literary)
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 "large".
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)
曼 màn — handsome; large; long
这首乐曲的旋律十分曼妙。Zhè shǒu yuè qǔ de xuán lǜ shí fēn màn miào.The melody of this piece of music is very graceful.
Common words: 曼波 (màn bō)、伊曼 (yī màn)、罗曼使 (luó màn shǐ)
鸿 hóng — eastern bean goose; great; large
大雁也叫鸿雁，秋天会成群南飞。Dà yàn yě jiào hóng yàn, qiū tiān huì chéng qún nán fēi.Wild geese, also called hongyan, fly south in flocks in autumn.
Common words: 来鸿 (lái hóng)、飞鸿 (fēi hóng)、惊鸿 (jīng hóng)
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)
All 5 characters
Open 大、伟、曼 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.