丁当 (dīng dāng) — (onomatopoeia) ding-dong; jingle; clink

Definition

Onomatopoeia for a clear, metallic 'ding-dong' or 'clink' — the sound of a bell ringing or glasses touching. Used as a modifier before 的 to describe the noise (∼的声音).

onomatopoeia
ding-dongjingleclink
Easily confused

Examples

  • 丁当。
    Mén líng dīng dāng dì xiǎng le sān shēng.
    The doorbell rang three times with a ding-dong.
  • 丁当。
    Tā men pèng bēi shí fā chū le dīng dāng de shēng yīn.
    They made a clinking sound when they clinked glasses.
  • 丁当。
    Xiǎo huǒ chē kāi dòng shí fā chū dīng dāng de shēng xiǎng.
    The little train makes a ding-dong sound when it starts moving.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

丁 may picture a nail head, a person's head, a square city wall, or a square star pattern.

Open 丁 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 當; 当 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
田田tiánfield
Sound part声符shēngfú
尚
尚shàng當dāng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 當 combines 田 (field) with 尚; the evidence describes fields facing each other.

Open 当 →

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