重担 (zhòng dàn) — heavy burden; difficult task | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

heavy burdendifficult task

Measure word · 副

Examples

重担。
Tā yí gè rén tiāo qǐ le zhè ge zhòng dàn.
He alone took on this heavy burden.
重担。
Zhè ge zhòng dàn ràng tā jué de hěn lèi.
This heavy burden makes him feel very tired.
重担。
Wǒ men yīng gāi yì qǐ fēn dān zhè ge zhòng dàn.
We should share this heavy burden together.

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.

重 means heavy and 担 means load, giving a heavy burden or difficult task.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

東

東dōng重zhòng

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

重 developed from a picture of a man carrying a bag, with 人 for the man and 東 for the bag; a later ground element was folded into the form.

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

扌旦担

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

旦

旦dàn担dàn

Same sound today

In 担, the left part 扌 is the hand, showing that the action involves using the hand. The right part 旦 shows how it sounds.

Appears in

Abstract Concepts

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.