大胆 (dà dǎn) — bold, daring, audacious

Definition

Adjective describing bold actions, ideas, or decisions — implies taking risks, can be positive (大胆创新) or negative/rude (太大胆了). 勇敢 is about courage in the face of fear; 大胆 is about being uninhibited in what you attempt.

adjective
bolddaringaudacious

Examples

  • 大胆
    Tā dà dǎn dì xiàng lǎo bǎn tí chū le zì jǐ de xiǎng fǎ.
    He boldly put forward his own idea to the boss.
  • 大胆
    Zhè ge gǎi gé fāng àn fēi cháng dà dǎn, dàn yě yǒu fēng xiǎn.
    This reform plan is very bold, but also risky.
  • 大胆
    Nǐ dà dǎn yì diǎn, bié hài pà shī bài.
    Be a little bolder — don't be afraid of failure.

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.

大 describes the 胆, the organ associated with courage, as enlarged.

Characters in this word

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 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
Written in full asròubody part
Sound part声符shēngfú
dàndǎn
Same sound today

胆 combines ⺼, written as 肉 when full, for a body part, with 旦 as a sound part.

Open 胆 →

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