懂 (dǒng): to understand
懂 (dǒng) is a Chinese character meaning “to understand.” Classified as HSK Level 2 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 忄 (semantic) and 董 (phonetic). It ranks #1206 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 懂 mind. Its radical form 忄 (heart) appears in many related characters such as 忙 (máng, busy), 快 (kuài, fast, happy), 怎 (zěn, how).
Definitions
- to understand
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 懂 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 懂
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 懂事adjective | dǒng shì | to grow beyond the naivete of childhood |
| 难懂adjective | nán dǒng | difficult to understand |
| 懂行adjective | dǒng háng | to know the ropes |
| 易懂adjective | yì dǒng | easy to understand |
| 懵懂adjective | měng dǒng | confused |
| 不懂装懂phrase | bù dǒng zhuāng dǒng | to pretend to understand when you don't |
| 自懂事以来 | zì dǒng shì yǐ lái | for as long as one can remember |
| 看不懂verb | kàn bu dǒng | unable to make sense of what one is looking at |
| 听不懂verb | tīng bu dǒng | unable to make sense of what one is hearing |
| 可懂度noun | kě dǒng dù | intelligibility |
| 听得懂verb | tīng de dǒng | to understand (by hearing) |
| 懂门儿 | dǒng mén r | one who knows his business |
| 看懂verb | kàn dǒng | to understand what one is reading or watching |
| 弄不懂 | nòng bu dǒng | unable to make sense of (sth) |
| 听懂verb | tīng dǒng | to understand (on hearing) |
懂 appears in 29 compound words: 24 as the first character, 52 as the last, and 24 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 懂 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (5)
Example Sentences
他说得太快了，我没听懂，能不能再解释一遍？
Tā shuō de tài kuài le, wǒ méi tīng dǒng, néng bùnéng zài jiěshì yí biàn?
He spoke too fast; I didn't understand. Could you explain it again?
...6 Ultra怎么挑?硬体规格差异一表看懂
. . . 6 U l t r a zěn má tiāo ? yìng tǐ guī gé chā yì yī biǎo kàn dǒng
... How to choose 6 Ultra? The difference in hardware specifications is understood in a table
亚洲码和欧洲码的尺码单位区别?一文读懂不再买错
yà zhōu mǎ hé ōu zhōu mǎ de chǐ mǎ dān wèi qū bié ? yī wén dòu dǒng bù zài mǎi cuò
What's the Difference Between Asian and European Sizing? One Article to Help You Shop Right
好多男生中了! 醫揭「3個女生不懂行為」
hǎo duō nán shēng zhōng le ! 醫 jiē 個 nǚ shēng bù dǒng háng 為
A lot of guys got it! Doctors reveal "3 behaviors girls don't understand."
代銷認「最怕1類人」看房! 網秒懂笑了:會拿捲尺驗屋
dài 銷 認 zuì pà 類 rén kàn fáng ! 網 miǎo dǒng xiào le 會 ná 捲 chǐ 驗 wū
Real estate agents admit they "fear one type of person" most during viewings! Netizens instantly get it and laugh: They'll bring a tape measure to inspect the property.
從小裝堅強!長大才懂原來「家」不是地方 是一種感覺
從 xiǎo 裝 堅 強 ! 長 dà cái dǒng yuán 來 jiā bù shì dì fāng shì yī 種 gǎn 覺
Pretending to be strong since childhood! Only when grown up do I realize that "home" isn't a place—it's a feeling.
你觉得有多少人懂得欣赏音乐？
Nǐ juéde yǒu duōshao rén dǒngde xīnshǎng yīnyuè?
How many people do you think have an ear for music?
怎么会有人认为不懂英语就不能生存？
Zěnme huì yǒurén rènwéi bù dǒng Yīngyǔ jiù bù néng shēngcún?
Why do they say you have to learn English to survive?
你懂得用这台相机吗？
Nǐ dǒngde yòng zhè tái xiàngjī ma?
Do you know how to use this camera?
那你就是不懂这句句子咯？
Nà nǐ jiùshì bù dǒng zhè jù jùzi gē?
So you don't understand this sentence?
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 忄 (mind) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 懂 (dǒng) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 懂 have?
What is the radical of 懂?
What are the components of 懂?
What are common words containing 懂?
What characters sound the same as 懂 (dǒng)?
Is 懂 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 懂 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.