代 (dài): to be a substitute for, to act on behalf of, to replace, to substitute, generation, dynasty, age, period, (historical) era, (geological) eon
代 (dài) is a Chinese character meaning “to be a substitute for.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 亻 (structural) and 弋 (structural). It ranks #174 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 代 a man 亻 caught 弋 by the passing of time. Its radical form 亻 (person) appears in many related characters such as 人 (rén, person), 什 (shén, what), 今 (jīn, now).
Definitions
- to be a substitute for
- to act on behalf of
- to replace
- to substitute
- generation
- dynasty
- age
- period
- (historical) era
- (geological) eon
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA man 亻 caught 弋 by the passing of time
Decomposition: ⿰亻弋 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
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Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 代
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 代表noun/verb | dài biǎo | representative | 5 |
| 年代noun | nián dài | a decade of a century (e.g. the Sixties) | 5 |
| 时代noun | shí dài | age | 5 |
| 代价noun | dài jià | price | 6 |
| 代替verb | dài tì | to replace | 5 |
| 现代noun/adjective | xiàn dài | modern times | 5 |
| 代理verb | dài lǐ | to act on behalf of sb in a responsible position | 6 |
| 取代verb | qǔ dài | to replace | 6 |
| 后代noun | hòu dài | descendant | 6 |
| 古代noun | gǔ dài | ancient times | 5 |
| 一代noun | yī dài | generation | 5 |
| 当代noun | dāng dài | the present age | 6 |
| 现代化verb | xiàn dài huà | modernization | 5 |
| 近代noun | jìn dài | the not-very-distant past | 5 |
| 朝代noun | cháo dài | dynasty | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 代码 | dài mǎ | code |
| 代号 | dài hào | code name |
| 替代 | tì dài | to substitute for |
| 交代 | jiāo dài | to transfer (duties to sb else) |
| 代课 | dài kè | to teach as substitute for absent teacher |
| 代数 | dài shù | algebra |
| 代谢 | dài xiè | replacement |
| 世代 | shì dài | for many generations |
| 代表团 | dài biǎo tuán | delegation |
| 代劳 | dài láo | to do sth in place of sb else |
| 代表队 | dài biǎo duì | delegation |
| 代沟 | dài gōu | generation gap |
| 代顿 | dài dùn | Dayton (city in Ohio) |
| 代词 | dài cí | pronoun |
| 五代 | wǔ dài | Five Dynasties, period of history between the fall of the Tang dynasty (907) and the founding of the Song dynasty (96... |
代 appears in 100 compound words: 52 as the first character, 47 as the last, and 1 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 代 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (19)
to take away somebody else's work; to run things all by oneself without consulting others
to carry on one's ancestral line; to go on from generation to generation
magnificent style unmatched in his generation (idiom); peerless talent
beauty unmatched in her generation (idiom); woman of peerless elegance; prettiest girl ever
to substitute one for another; to carry the can for someone; to take punishment in place of someone
The Last Emperor, 1987 biopic of Pu Yi 溥儀|溥仪[Pu3 yi2] by Bernardo Bertolucci
to take away somebody else's work; to run things all by oneself without consulting others
magnificent style unmatched in his generation (idiom); peerless talent
beauty unmatched in her generation (idiom); woman of peerless elegance; prettiest girl ever
Showing 12 of 19 idioms containing 代.
Example Sentences
年轻一代正在逐渐接过社会发展的重任。
Niánqīng yī dài zhèngzài zhújiàn jiē guò shèhuì fāzhǎn de zhòngrèn.
The younger generation is gradually taking over the heavy responsibility of social development.
高标准高质量推进雄安新区建设现代化城市丨雄安新区新..
gāo biāo zhǔn gāo zhì liàng tuī jìn xióng ān xīn qū jiàn shè xiàn dài huà chéng shì 丨 xióng ān xīn qū xīn . .
Promote the construction of Xiong'an New Area into a modern city with high standards and high quality丨Xiong'an New Area New:
(外代一线)美国加州遭遇冬季风暴袭击
( wài dài yī xiàn ) měi guó jiā zhōu zāo yù dōng jì fēng bào xí jī
California, USA, was hit by a winter storm
苏翊鸣斩获中国代表团米兰冬奥会首金 一份送给22岁..
sū 翊 míng zhǎn huò zhōng guó dài biǎo tuán mǐ lán dōng ào huì shǒu jīn yī fèn sòng gěi suì . .
Su Yiming won the first gold of the Chinese delegation at the Winter Olympics in Milan, a gift to the 22-year-old...
苏翊鸣:能为中国代表团拿下首金,意义比任何事情都重..
sū 翊 míng néng wéi zhōng guó dài biǎo tuán ná xià shǒu jīn , yì yì bǐ rèn hé shì qíng dū chóng . .
Su Yiming: It means more than anything to get the first gold for the Chinese delegation...
7500人闹社火、品尝汉代美食,一起解锁新年最潮打..
rén nào shè huǒ pǐn cháng hàn dài měi shí , yī qǐ xiè suǒ xīn nián zuì cháo dǎ . .
7,500 people will be playing social fire, tasting Han Dynasty food, and unlocking the most trendy New Year's...
这在阿拉伯语中代表什么？
Zhè zài ālābóyǔ zhōng dàibiǎo shénme?
What does this mean in Arabic?
能给我们一张代金券吗？
Néng gěi wǒmen yī zhāng dài jīn quàn ma?
Can we get a voucher?
你能代替我出席会议吗?
Nǐ néng dàitì wǒ chūxí huìyì ma?
Can you fill in for me at the meeting?
这个符号代表答案正确。
Zhège fúhào dàibiǎo dá'àn zhèngquè.
The sign means that the answer is correct.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 代 (dài)?
Is 代 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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