打 (dǎ) means "to hit, to strike" with 5 strokes, radical 扌 (hand), HSK 1 on the new exam.
Pronunciation
Meaning
Primary: to hit
Other meanings:
- to strike
Etymology
Oracle-bone origin
打 does not appear in oracle bone script and is a relatively late character, first attested clearly in post-Han sources. It is a phono-semantic compound combining 扌 (the hand radical, a reduced form of 手) on the left with 丁 (dīng) on the right as the phonetic element. The semantic logic is an action performed by the hand, with 丁 also evoking the image of striking a nail.
Form evolution
Because 打 is a late formation, there is no oracle bone or bronze form to trace. Its earliest stable appearance is in clerical script, where 扌 is already written in its modern three-stroke form and 丁 keeps its horizontal-plus-hook shape. The 楷書 form has not changed since, and simplified and traditional Chinese use an identical glyph.
How the meaning evolved
The original meaning was to strike or hit with the hand, and this literal sense is still active in 打人 (hit someone) and 打鼓 (beat a drum). From the Tang dynasty onwards 打 became a general-purpose light verb covering an enormous range of actions: 打電話 (make a phone call), 打水 (fetch water), 打傘 (hold an umbrella), 打工 (do manual labour). Its phonetic 丁 originally rhymed with 打, though sound change has obscured this link in modern Mandarin.
Cultural note
打 is one of the most productive verbs in Mandarin and appears in hundreds of fixed collocations where its meaning is nearly bleached, much like English 'do' or 'get'. Song dynasty grammarians already complained that 打 had become a catch-all verb with no fixed sense, a criticism that still fits its modern usage.
Mnemonic
A hand hammering a nail — to hit, to do
Decomposition
Breaking a character into its components makes it far easier to recall. Each component above links to its own detail page.
Basic info
| Pinyin | dǎ |
| Meanings | to hit, to strike |
| Stroke count | 5 strokes |
| Radical | 扌 (#64: hand) |
| New HSK exam | Recognise at HSK 1, write by hand at HSK 1-2 |
| Frequency | #14 most common |
Example sentences
Words containing 打
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 打电话 | dǎ diànhuà | to call on the phone | HSK 1 |
| 打篮球 | dǎlánqiú | play basketball | |
| 打扫 | dǎsǎo | Clean | HSK 3 |
| 打算 | dǎsuàn | to plan | HSK 3 |
| 打招呼 | dǎzhāohu | Say hello | HSK 4 |
| 打扮 | dǎban | dress up | HSK 5 |
| 打扰 | dǎrǎo | Disturb | HSK 4 |
| 打印 | dǎyìn | HSK 4 | |
| 打折 | dǎzhé | Discount | HSK 4 |
| 打针 | dǎzhēn | To make an injection | HSK 4 |
| 打工 | dǎgōng | Work | HSK 4 |
| 打交道 | dǎjiāodao | Dealing with | HSK 6 |
| 打喷嚏 | dǎpēntì | Sneeze | HSK 7-9 |
| 打听 | dǎting | Inquire | HSK 5 |
| 拨打 | bōdǎ | to dial (a telephone) | HSK 5 |
| 打 | dǎ | to hit, to strike | HSK 2 |
| 打败 | dǎbài | to defeat, to beat | HSK 4 |
| 打包 | dǎbāo | to pack, to package | HSK 5 |
| 打搏 | dǎbó | to fight, to struggle |
Related characters
Similar meaning (action)
On the new HSK 1 exam
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.