掂 (diān) — to weigh (in the hand), to heft
Definition
掂 (diān) means to weigh something by hand — lifting or balancing it to estimate its weight, not using a scale. The reduplicated pattern 掂一掂 is common in spoken Chinese.
verb
to weigh (in the hand)to heft
Examples
- 掂，。Tā diān le yí xià nà ge xī guā, jué de tài zhòng le.He hefted the watermelon and thought it was too heavy.
- 掂，。Nǐ diān yí xià zhè ge dài zi, kàn kàn yǒu duō chóng.Heft this bag and see how heavy it is.
- 掂，。Wǒ gāng diān le zhè píng shuǐ, dà gài liǎng jīn.I just hefted this bottle of water; it's about two pounds.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
In 掂, the left part 扌 is a hand, and the right part 店 gives the sound.
Appears in
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