五大 (wǔ dà) — the five great (things); the Big Five

Definition

Refers to any set of five top-ranked items, often with a specified domain (五大洲, 五大湖, 五大强国). Translates as "the Big Five" or "the five great," and is a fixed pattern rather than a concrete noun.

noun
the five great (things)the Big Five

Examples

  • 五大。
    Zhè bù xiǎo shuō lǐ tí dào le gǔ dài zhōng guó de wǔ dà.
    This novel mentions the five great things of ancient China.
  • 五大？
    Nǐ zhī dào shì jiè shàng yǒu nǎ wǔ dà ma?
    Do you know what the five great things in the world are?
  • 五大。
    Jīng jì xué jiā fēn xī le shì chǎng de wǔ dà.
    Economists analyzed the Big Five of the market.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

五wǔfive
大dàgreat

五 (five) and 大 (great) combine to mean the five great things.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

An older form had a crossed mark between a top bar and a bottom bar. The modern 五 keeps those bars, while the original idea is uncertain.

Open 五 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

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