大 (dà) means "big, large" with 3 strokes, radical 大 (big), HSK 1 on the new exam.
Pronunciation
Meaning
Primary: big
Other meanings:
- large
Etymology
Oracle-bone origin
大 in oracle-bone script is a clear pictograph of a person standing with arms and legs outstretched, facing forward. The spread-out posture conveys size and expansiveness directly: a human taking up as much space as possible. It is one of the most iconic body-pictographs in the Chinese writing system and is closely related to 人 (person, profile view) and 立 (standing person on ground).
Form evolution
The oracle-bone form is a stick-figure with a horizontal bar for the arms and two diagonal legs. Bronze inscriptions fatten the strokes but keep the same shape. Seal script regularises the figure into a balanced three-stroke form, and clerical script flattens it into the three-stroke 大 used today. The character has been structurally unchanged for over two thousand years, one of the most stable in the script.
How the meaning evolved
The original meaning of big or large has remained the core sense throughout recorded history. From there it extended to great (in importance), elder (大哥 older brother), and as an intensifier (大家 everyone, literally big family). Classical Chinese also used it as an honorific prefix, a usage preserved in modern words like 大学 (great learning, university) and 大使 (great envoy, ambassador).
Cultural note
The character 大 sits at the top of the frequency list for Chinese and appears as a component in many characters including 天 (sky, a person with something above the head), 夫 (husband, a man with a hairpin), and 太 (too much, a person with an extra stroke below). Recognising the person-with-arms-out shape inside these characters unlocks a whole family of related meanings.
Mnemonic
A person stretching arms wide — big
Basic info
| Pinyin | dà |
| Meanings | big, large |
| Stroke count | 3 strokes |
| Radical | 大 (#37: big) |
| New HSK exam | Recognise at HSK 1, write by hand at HSK 1-2 |
| Frequency | #3 most common |
Example sentences
Words containing 大
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 大 | dà | big, large | HSK 1 |
| 大家 | dàjiā | everyone | HSK 1 |
| 大概 | dàgài | Probably | HSK 3 |
| 大使馆 | dàshǐguǎn | Embassy | |
| 大约 | dàyuē | about | HSK 4 |
| 大夫 | dàifu | Doctor | HSK 4 |
| 大厦 | dàshà | Large building | HSK 5 |
| 大象 | dàxiàng | Elephant | HSK 5 |
| 广大 | guǎngdà | Vast | HSK 5 |
| 巨大 | jùdà | huge | HSK 5 |
| 扩大 | kuòdà | Expand | HSK 5 |
| 大方 | dàfang | generous | HSK 6 |
| 大型 | dàxíng | large | HSK 5 |
| 伟大 | wěidà | great | HSK 5 |
| 重大 | zhòngdà | significant | HSK 5 |
| 博大精深 | bódàjīngshēn | wide-ranging and profound | HSK 7-9 |
| 不大 | bùdà | not very, not often | |
| 长大 | zhǎngdà | to grow up | |
| 大半 | dàbàn | more than half |
Related characters
Similar meaning (abstract)
On the new HSK 1 exam
Studying for HSK 1? Keep 大 with the rest of your level.
HSK Lord schedules your reviews so each character comes back right before you would forget it. Free to start, and it picks up where you are.
Frequently Asked Questions
Appears in these articles
- Chinese 2 Vocabulary List: 300+ Words for Your Second Year
- Chinese Clothing Vocabulary: Shopping & Getting Dressed in Mandarin
- Chinese Music Vocabulary: 50+ Words for Songs, Instruments & Concerts
- Chinese Numbers 1-100: Complete Guide with Pronunciation
- Chinese Weather Vocabulary: 60+ Words to Describe the Weather
Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.