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當: to serve as; accept | suitable

By February 9, 2015January 16th, 2017Chinese Word, Japanese Word, Language-Learning

 

當 [当] dāng

verb | preposition
: to be; to act as
: manage; withstand
: when; during
: ought; should
: match equally; equal; same
: obstruct
: just at (a time or place); on the spot; right; just at

噹 [当] dāng

onomatopoeia
: dong; ding dong (bell)

當 [当] dàng

adjective | verb
: at or in the very same…
: suitable; adequate; fitting; proper
: to replace; to regard as; to think
: to pawn
: (coll.) to fail (a student)

Kun Reading

当て | あて ate

noun
: aim; object; purpose; end
: expectations; prospects; hopes
: something that can be relied upon
: (Noun suffix) pad; guard
: blow; strike

当り | あたり atari

noun
: hit
: success
: guess; prediction
: affability; friendliness
: sensation; touch
: bruise (on fruit)
: situation in which a stone or chain of stones may be captured on the next move (in the game of go)
: bite (of a fish on a hook); strike
: (Suffix) per; each

当り | とうの touno

pre-noun adjectival
: the … in question

当る | あたる ataru

godan verb with ru | intransitive verb
: to be hit; to strike
: to touch; to be in contact; to be affixed
: to be equivalent to; to be applicable; to apply to
: to be right on the money (of a prediction, criticism, etc.)
: to be selected (in a lottery, etc.); to win
: to be successful; to go well; to be a hit
: to face; to confront
: to lie (in the direction of)
: to undertake; to be assigned
: to be stricken (by food poisoning, heat, etc.); to be afflicted
: to be called upon (by the teacher)
: to treat (esp. harshly); to lash out at
: to be unnecessary
: (in baseball) to be hitting well; to be on a hitting streak
: (in fishing) to feel a bite
: (of fruit, etc.) to be bruised; to spoil
: () to feel (something) out; to probe into; to check (i.e. by comparison)
: to shave

当てる | あてる ateru

ichidan verb | transitive verb
: to hit
: to expose
: to apply (e.g. patch)
: to allot; to call on someone (e.g. in class)
: to guess (an answer)
: to make a hit (e.g. in a lottery)

On Reading

当 | とう tou

prefix
: this (business organization or place)

 Usage:

當[当]然 dang1ran2: only natural; as it should be; certainly; of course; without doubt
[当然 | とうぜん touzen: natural; as a matter of course]
當時 [当时]dang1shi2: (at) that time; then while
[当時 | とうじ touji: at that time; in those days]
當[当]地 dang1di4: local [当地 | とうち touch: this place (locality); here]
當[当]前 dang1qian2: current; today’s; modern; present; to be facing (us)
當[当]年 dang1nian2: in those days; then; in those years; during that time
[当年 | とうねん tounen: the present year; at that time]
相當[当] xiang1dang1: equivalent to; appropriate; considerably; to a certain extent; fairly; quite
[相当 | そうとう: befitting; becoming; worthy of; proportionate; in keeping with; suitable
: considerable; substantial
: (Suru verb) to be worthy of; to be proportionate to
: to correspond to (in meaning, function, etc.); to be equivalent
: (Adverb) extremely; considerably]
不敢當[当] bu4gan3 dang1: lit. I dare not (accept the honor); fig. I don’t deserve your praise; you flatter me
正當[当] zheng4dang1: timely; just (when needed)
應當[应当] ying1dang1: ought to; should
噹 [当] dang1:(onom.) dong; ding dong (bell)
叮噹[叮当]ding1dang1: (onom.) ding dong; jingling of bells; clanking sound
噹噹[当当] dang1dang1: (onom.) ding dong
響叮噹[响叮当] xiang3 ding1dang1: to tinkle; to jingle; to clank
響噹噹[响当当] xiang3 dang1dang1: resounding; loud; well known; famous
當 [当] dang4: at or in the very same…; suitable; adequate; fitting; proper; to replace; to regard as; to think; to pawn; (coll.) to fail (a student)
當[当]做 dang4zuo4: to treat as; to regard as; to look upon as
當[当]天 dang4tian1: that day; the same day
當[当]作 dang4zuo4: to treat as; to regard as
當[当]事 dang4shi4: to consider as a matter of importance; to be of importance
[当事 | とうじ touji: matter under concern]
當[当]夜 dang4ye4: that night
[当夜 | とうや touya: that night; tonight]
適當[适当] shi4dang4: suitable; appropriate [適当 | てきとう tekitou: suitable; proper; appropriate; adequate; fit
: noncommittal; vague; equivocal; irresponsible]
上當[当] shang4dang4: taken in (by somebody’s deceit); to be fooled; to be duped
不當[当] bu4dang4: unsuitable; improper; inappropriate
[不当 | ふとう futou: injustice; impropriety; unreasonableness; undeserved; unfair; invalid]
了當[当] liao3dang4: frank; outspoken; ready; settled; in order; (old) to deal with; to handle
正當[当] zheng4dang4: honest; reasonable; fair; sensible
[正当 | せいとう seitou: just; justifiable; right; due; proper; equitable; reasonable; legitimate; legal; lawful]



Japanese expression | idiom
当然のこと | とうぜんのこと touzen no koto
: a matter of course; what is to be expected; par for the course

当然のことながら | とうぜんのことながら touzen no koto nagara
: naturally; not surprisingly; it should be appreciated that; understandably; as a matter of course; as is obvious; as will be understood

当然の報い | とうぜんのむくい touzen no mukui
: one’s just deserts; one’s just reward; what one deserves; comeuppance

相当な注意 | そうとうなちゅうい soutou na chuui
: due diligence; due care; reasonable diligence; reasonable care

下手な鉄砲も数撃ちゃ当たる | へたなてっぽうもかずうちゃあたる hetana teppou mo kazuucha ataru
: even the unskilled can succeed by a fluke given enough tries; even a poor marksman will hit the target with enough shots

犬もあるけば棒に当たる | いぬもあるけばぼうにあたる inu mo arukeba bouni ataru
: no matter what you attempt, tragedy may befall you. even a dog, if it walks, will bump into a pole
: good luck may come unexpectedly

見当がつかない | けんとうがつかない kentou ga tsukanai
: having not the slightest idea



Chinese expression | idiom
吊兒郎當 [吊儿郎当] diao4 r5 lang2 dang1: sloppy

理所當然 [理所当然] li3 suo3 dang1 ran2
: as it should be by rights; proper and to be expected as a matter of course; inevitable and right

豺狼當道 [豺狼当道] chai2 lang2 dang1 dao4
: ravenous wolves hold the road (idiom); wicked people in power; a vicious tyranny rules the land

門當戶對 [门当户对] men2 dang1 hu4 dui4
: the families are well-matched in terms of social status (idiom); (of a prospective marriage partner) an appropriate match

說話不當話 [说话不当话] shuo1 hua4 bu4 dang4 hua4
: to fail to keep to one’s word; to break a promise

當天事當天畢 [当天事当天毕] dang4 tian1 shi4 dang4 tian1 bi4
: never put off until tomorrow what you can do today

好漢做事,好漢當 [好汉做事,好汉当] hao3 han4 zuo4 shi4 , hao3 han4 dang1
: daring to act and courageous enough to take responsibility for it; a true man has the courage to accept the consequences of his actions; the buck stops here

有福同享,有難同當 [有福同享,有难同当] you3 fu2 tong2 xiang3 , you3 nan4 tong2 dang1
: To enjoy blessings and endure misfortune together; for better or for worse

早知今日何必當初 [早知今日何必当初] zao3 zhi1 jin1 ri4 he2 bi4 dang1 chu1
: if I (you, she, he…) had known it would come to this, I (you, she, he…) would not have acted thus (idiom); to regret vainly one’s past behavior

當局者迷,旁觀者清 [当局者迷,旁观者清] dang1 ju2 zhe3 mi2 , pang2 guan1 zhe3 qing1
: The person on the spot is baffled while the onlooker sees the entire picture. The onlooker sees more of the game

 Etymology:


形声 Pictophonetic.
田 (tian2: field) suggests the meaning while
尚 (shang4: still; yet) provides the sound.



簡體 Simplified.
当. Created as generic character simplification #23 (當噹 » 当).



 Examples:
我想要當醫生。
wo3 xiang3yao4 dang1 yi1sheng1.
I want to be a doctor.

Resources: Chinese Dictionary | Japanese Dictionary