懂得 (dǒng de) — to understand, to know, to comprehend | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

懂得 emphasizes deep understanding — a principle, reason, or meaning — more than 知道 (which is just 'know' a fact). Stronger and more reflective than the bare verb 懂, which is everyday comprehension.

verb

to understandto knowto comprehend

Examples

懂得。
Wǒ dǒng de zhè ge zì de yì si.
I understand the meaning of this character.
懂得？
Nǐ dǒng de lǎo shī shuō de huà ma?
Do you understand what the teacher said?
，懂得。
Tā hái xiǎo, bù dǒng de zhè ge dào lǐ.
He is still young and doesn't understand this principle.

Origin

Derived word

构词法gòucífǎ

后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

懂dǒngunderstand

得désuffix

The first part means understand, and the second is a small added part that helps make the word.

Characters in this word

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

心心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

董

董dǒng懂dǒng

Same sound today

懂 is built from 心, the heart, and 董, which gives the sound.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The old form 㝵 showed a hand picking up a cowry, meaning to obtain; later changes turned that picture into 得.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 3 Thinking & Cognition 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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