當 (dāng) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

當

dāng[dang1]Tone 1

to act as, when, right at

HSK 2

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当

Multiple Readings (多音字):

Guru Deep Dive

English · to act as, when, right at

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Topology:Top-bottom

Strokes:6

Writing Balance Rule: The top crown component sits evenly centered over the bottom container/base element. Ensure horizontal strokes are parallel and evenly spaced.

Simplification Logic: Simplified from 當 by standardizing the cursive and grass-script abbreviations of the inner components into cleaner, standardized strokes.

1. Meaning

to serve as, to act as, to be in charge of

when, at the time ofought to, shouldmatch equally, equivalent to

Verb / Preposition / AuxiliaryNeutral#actions#roles#time

Sample Usage

他长大以后想当医生。
tā zhǎng dà yǐ hòu xiǎng dāng yī shēng.
He wants to be a doctor when he grows up.
当时我不在家。
dāng shí wǒ bù zài jiā.
At that time, I was not at home.

2. Sound

/[taŋ⁵⁵]/Tone: 55

當

dāngdang1

¯(55)

=dāng

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Alveolar

Sounds like: d sound like in English 'do'

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: No puff of air. Tissue remains still (sounds like English 't' in 'stop').

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip touches the alveolar ridge behind the upper front teeth, then releases.

Final Rhyme

ang

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: -ang rhymes with 'ahng' (father + ng)

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ahng'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T1 (55)

5 → 5 (55)

1st Tone (High-Flat)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Maintains a steady, high pitch across the entire syllable, similar to singing a high note or saying 'moth-er' with the first syllable stretched high and flat.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the nasal ending '-ng' with an alveolar '-n' ending like 'dan'. Ensure the back of the tongue rises for the velar nasal.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A flat, high horizontal hand gesture matching the high level tone (Tone 1).

3. Writing

Topology: Top-bottom · Strokes: 6 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The top crown component sits evenly centered over the bottom container/base element. Ensure horizontal strokes are parallel and evenly spaced.

Simplification Logic: Simplified from 當 by standardizing the cursive and grass-script abbreviations of the inner components into cleaner, standardized strokes.

4. Components

Radical 田 · Field Radical (farmland, field)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 尚 (Provides the phonetic and upper structural layout clue.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 尚 (original sound: shàng)

The upper part represents a tall roof or noble status (尚), while the lower part is a plot of agricultural land (田). Together they signify taking charge of or standing equal to the duties of the land.

尚 Upper phonetic and structural component
田 Lower semantic field component

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

24· Phonetic Root: 尚 (shàng)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally derived from imagery related to a property boundary or matching up portions of land (田) governed by high authority (尚).

Semantic Evolution: Shifted from matching/equaling boundaries to serving in an equal role ('to act as', 'to be') and specifying exact matching time ('when', 'just at').

In classical texts, it frequently meant 'to match' or 'to equal in value'.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: トウ / Kun: あたる

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

당

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

You stand tall like a noble (尚) right over your family farm field (田) to ACT AS the master of the house WHEN the harvest arrives.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

挡

dǎngto block, to resistAdds the hand radical (扌) on the left for physical blocking action.

档

dàngshelf, official filesAdds the wood radical (木) on the left, referring to wooden shelves for filing.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

挡(dǎng)

挡 has the hand radical (扌) because you block things with your hands; 当 is bare.

当(dàng)

Same character, but pronounced in Tone 4 (dàng) when meaning 'to pawn' or 'proper'.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

他長大以後想[___]醫生。

Clue: dāng

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the tones: using Tone 4 (dàng - meaning to pawn or appropriate) instead of Tone 1 (dāng - meaning to act as or when).

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see the character '当' with meaning 'to act as', what is its Pinyin and tone?

Production: How do you write the character meaning 'to act as' or 'when' with 6 strokes?

當dāngto act as, when, right at

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