答 dá, dā — to answer, to reply; an answer; (dā) to respond to, to agree (in 答应)
dá (second tone, rising) dā (first tone, high and level)
2 readings — the first is the most common.
to answer, to reply; an answer; (dā) to respond to, to agree (in 答应)
12 strokesRadical 竹Frequency #517
Pinyin
- dá (second tone, rising)most common
- dā (first tone, high and level)
to answer, to reply; an answer; (dā) to respond to, to agree (in 答应)
Character breakdown
Ideographic description
⿱⺮合The sequence reads left to right and describes how the parts are arranged.
- ⺮meaning partno entry yetBamboo. The word was first written 荅 with the grass radical; the bamboo form took over, and is usually explained by the slips on which a reply was written.
- 合sound partno entry yet合 hé for the sound; its own meaning, "to match, to fit together", suits an answer that fits its question.
Mnemonic
Bamboo ⺮ over 合 "to fit together": an answer is what fits the question, and it was written back on a bamboo slip. Say dá for the answer itself — 回答, 答案, 答对了 — and dā in the fixed pair 答应, to promise or to agree to do something.
A memory aid written by HSK Guide editors. It is not an etymology and does not describe the historical origin of the character.