TongTong
Sign in

大为 (dà wéi) — greatly, very (formal)

Definition

大为 is a formal, written adverb meaning 'greatly' — used in reports and journalism, not everyday speech. Stronger than the colloquial 很 and more formal than the similar 大大.

adverb
greatlyvery (formal)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 大为。
    Tā de néng lì dà wéi tí gāo le.
    His ability has greatly improved.
  • 大为。
    Guān zhòng duì yǎn chū dà wéi mǎn yì.
    The audience was greatly satisfied with the performance.
  • 大为。
    Zhè cì shì jiàn dà wéi yǐng xiǎng le gōng sī de shēng yù.
    This incident greatly affected the company's reputation.

Origin

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 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 為; 为 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 為 showed a hand holding an elephant; the simplified 为 is a later shorthand.

Open 为 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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