当 (dāng): (onom.) dong, ding dong (bell), to be
当 (dāng) is a Chinese character meaning “(onom.) dong.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of ⺌ (structural) and 彐 (structural). It ranks #71 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Definitions
- (onom.) dong
- ding dong (bell)
- to be
Stroke Order
Practice writing 当 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 当
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 当然adverb | dāng rán | only natural | 3 |
| 当时noun | dāng shí | then | 4 |
| 相当verb/adverb | xiāng dāng | equivalent to | 5 |
| 当作verb | dàng zuò | to treat as | 5 |
| 当成verb | dàng chéng | to consider as | 5 |
| 当地noun | dāng dì | local | 5 |
| 当中noun | dāng zhōng | among | 5 |
| 当初noun | dāng chū | at that time | 6 |
| 当年noun | dāng nián | in those days | 5 |
| 适当adjective | shì dàng | suitable | 5 |
| 应当verb | yīng dāng | should | 5 |
| 当天noun | dāng tiān | on that day | 6 |
| 恰当adjective | qià dàng | appropriate | 6 |
| 当面adverb | dāng miàn | to sb's face | 6 |
| 当场adverb | dāng chǎng | at the scene | 6 |
| 当选verb | dāng xuǎn | to be elected | 6 |
| 当前verb/noun | dāng qián | the present time | 5 |
| 上当verb | shàng dàng | taken in (by sb's deceit) | 6 |
| 当今noun | dāng jīn | the present time | 6 |
| 当代noun | dāng dài | the present age | 6 |
| 当下noun/adverb | dāng xià | immediately | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 当心 | dāng xīn | to take care |
| 当晚 | dāng wǎn | on that evening |
| 每当 | měi dāng | whenever |
| 当真 | dàng zhēn | to take seriously |
| 当局 | dāng jú | authorities |
| 当做 | dàng zuò | to treat as |
| 勾当 | gòu dàng | shady business |
| 当兵 | dāng bīng | to serve in the army |
| 妥当 | tuǒ dang | appropriate |
| 不当 | bù dàng | unsuitable |
| 当班 | dāng bān | to work one's shift |
当 appears in 100 compound words: 58 as the first character, 42 as the last, and 0 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 当 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (28)
pressing matter of the moment; task of top priority; matter of great urgency
lit. sing to accompany wine (idiom); fig. life is short, make merry while you can
pressing matter of the moment; task of top priority; matter of great urgency
Showing 12 of 28 idioms containing 当.
Example Sentences
他当之无愧地获得了这个奖项，这是他多年努力的结果。
Tā dāng zhī wú kuì de huòdé le zhè gè jiǎngxiàng, zhè shì tā duō nián nǔlì de jiéguǒ.
He deservedly won this award, which is the result of his years of hard work.
当年轻人成为过年“主理人”,让团圆找到新载...
dāng nián qīng rén chéng wéi guò nián zhǔ lǐ rén , ràng tuán yuán zhǎo dào xīn zài . . .
When young people become the "managers" of the New Year, let the reunion find a new car...
...话上门做年夜饭的“95后”女生:回应春节当月收入..
. . . huà shǎng mén zuò nián yè fàn de hòu nǚ shēng huí yīng chūn jié dāng yuè shōu rù . .
... The "Post-95s" girls who make New Year's Eve dinner at home: Responding to the income of the month of the Chinese New Year...
央企大拜年|智惠领航,“翼”马当先!
yāng qǐ dà bài nián zhì huì lǐng háng , yì mǎ dāng xiān !
State-Owned Enterprises New Year Greetings | Smart Leadership, Leading the Way!
一马当先南京年|站台上演“暖心接力”,南京人合...
yī mǎ dāng xiān nán jīng nián zhàn tái shǎng yǎn nuǎn xīn jiē lì , nán jīng rén gě . . .
Nanjing New Year Takes the Lead | Heartwarming Relay on the Platform, Nanjing Residents Join Forces...
万全右卫城十二时辰:赚时辰印,当“荣誉居民”
mò quán yòu wèi chéng shí èr shí chén zhuàn shí chén yìn , dāng róng yù jū mín
Twelve Hours of the Right Guard City: Earn the Hour Seal, Become an "Honorary Resident"
在麦当劳吃早饭怎么样？
Zài Màidāngláo chī zǎofàn zěnmeyàng?
How's the breakfast at McDonald's?
我们有任何我可以当零食吃的东西吗？
Wǒmen yǒu rènhé wǒ kěyǐ dāng língshí chī de dōngxi ma?
Do we have anything I can snack on?
现在东京当地时间是几点钟？
Xiànzài Dōngjīng dāngdì shíjiān shì jǐ diǎnzhōng?
What's the local time in Tokyo now?
当你到达的时候他还在这里吗？
Dāng nǐ dàodá de shíhou tā hái zài zhèlǐ ma?
Was he still here when you arrived?
Character Family
彐 Radical Family — Characters sharing the snout radical
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 当 (dāng)?
Is 当 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 当 with real-time feedback
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