动 (dòng): (of sth) to move, to set in movement, to displace
动 (dòng) is a Chinese character meaning “(of sth) to move.” Classified as HSK Level 2 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 云 (structural) and 力 (semantic). It ranks #73 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 动 strength. Its radical form 力 (power) appears in many related characters such as 力 (lì, power), 办 (bàn, to take care of (a matter)), 加 (jiā, Canada (abbr. for 加拿大)).
Definitions
- (of sth) to move
- to set in movement
- to displace
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 动 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 动
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 行动verb/noun | xíng dòng | operation | 5 |
| 动作noun | dòng zuò | movement | 4 |
| 活动verb/noun | huó dòng | to exercise | 4 |
| 动物noun | dòng wù | animal | 3 |
| 激动adjective/verb | jī dòng | to move emotionally | 4 |
| 运动verb/noun | yùn dòng | to move | 2 |
| 移动verb | yí dòng | to move | 5 |
| 动手verb | dòng shǒu | to set about (a task) | 5 |
| 启动verb | qǐ dòng | to start (a machine) | 6 |
| 动机noun | dòng jī | motive | 6 |
| 自动adverb/adjective | zì dòng | automatic | 5 |
| 冲动noun/adjective | chōng dòng | to have an urge | 6 |
| 运动员noun | yùn dòng yuán | athlete | 3 |
| 主动adjective | zhǔ dòng | to take the initiative | 5 |
| 发动verb | fā dòng | to start | 6 |
| 动力noun | dòng lì | motive power | 6 |
| 感动adjective/verb | gǎn dòng | to move (sb) | 4 |
| 举动noun | jǔ dòng | act | 6 |
| 打动verb | dǎ dòng | to move (to pity) | 6 |
| 动车noun | dòng chē | (PRC) (D- or C-class) high-speed train | 4 |
| 动物园noun | dòng wù yuán | zoo | 3 |
| 流动verb | liú dòng | to flow | 6 |
| 转动verb | zhuǎn dòng | to turn sth around | 6 |
| 动人adjective | dòng rén | touching | 5 |
| 劳动noun/verb | láo dòng | work | 5 |
| 生动adjective | shēng dòng | (of descriptions, writing etc) vivid | 5 |
| 变动verb | biàn dòng | to change | 5 |
| 推动verb | tuī dòng | to push (e.g. for acceptance of a plan) | 5 |
| 动态noun/adjective | dòng tài | movement | 6 |
| 动听adjective | dòng tīng | pleasant to listen to | 6 |
| 互动verb | hù dòng | to interact | 5 |
| 调动verb | diào dòng | to transfer | 6 |
| 电动adjective | diàn dòng | electric-powered | 5 |
| 动画noun | dòng huà | animation | 5 |
| 被动adjective | bèi dòng | passive | 6 |
| 运动会noun | yùn dòng huì | sports competition | 3 |
| 动漫noun | dòng màn | cartoons and comics | 6 |
| 劳动力noun | láo dòng lì | labor force | 6 |
| 带动verb | dài dòng | to spur | 5 |
| 电动车noun | diàn dòng chē | electric vehicle (commonly refers to e-bikes, scooters or electric cars) | 4 |
| 机动车noun | jī dòng chē | motor vehicle | 6 |
动 appears in 130 compound words: 26 as the first character, 57 as the last, and 17 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 动 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (65)
to temporarily stand down one's army (to wait and see how things develop)
ready to start wriggling; ready to make trouble; be restless and about to make trouble
ready to start wriggling; ready to make trouble; be restless and about to make trouble
Showing 12 of 65 idioms containing 动.
Example Sentences
他把借来的书还给了图书馆，又借了几本新的。
Tā bǎ jiè lái de shū huán gěi le túshūguǎn, yòu jiè le jǐ běn xīn de.
He returned the borrowed books to the library and borrowed a few new ones.
...门口”到“厂门口”,首批数百名来沪务工劳动者“..
. . . mén kǒu dào hǎn mén kǒu , shǒu pī shǔ bǎi míng lái hù wù gōng láo dòng zhě . .
... "door" to "factory gate", the first batch of hundreds of migrant workers to Shanghai":
寻马记|能看到86匹灵动骏马的北齐壁画博物馆
xún mǎ jì néng kàn dào 8 6 pǐ líng dòng jùn mǎ de běi qí bì huà bó wù guǎn
The Northern Qi Mural Museum where you can see 86 smart horses
中外交流|塞尔维亚举行系列新春庙会活动庆祝中国年
zhōng wài jiāo liú sāi ěr wéi yà jǔ háng xì liè xīn chūn miào huì huó dòng qìng zhù zhōng guó nián
Sino-Foreign Exchange|Serbia celebrates Chinese New Year with a series of Lunar New Year temple festivals
大年初一全社会跨区域人员流动量超2.1亿人次 全国..
dà nián chū yī quán shè huì kuà ōu yù rén yuán liú dòng liáng chāo . yì rén cì quán guó . .
The first day of the Lunar New Year saw more than 210 million inter-regional movements of people across the country...
豆包除夕AI互动19亿次
dòu bāo chú xī hù dòng yì cì
Doubao AI interactions hit 1.9 billion on New Year's Eve
公园里有动物园吗？
Gōngyuán lǐ yǒu dòngwùyuán ma?
Is there a zoo in the park?
他那样做有什么动机？
Tā nàyàng zuò yǒu shénme dòngjī?
What was his motive for doing it?
你怎么连动也不动？
Nǐ zěnme liándòng yě bù dòng?
Why aren't you even moving at all?
你不觉得房子在摇动吗？
Nǐ bù juéde fángzi zài yáodòng ma?
Don't you feel the house shaking?
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 力 (strength) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 动 (dòng) mean in Chinese?
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What is the radical of 动?
What are the components of 动?
What are common words containing 动?
What characters sound the same as 动 (dòng)?
Is 动 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 动 with real-time feedback
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