大堂 (dà táng) — lobby, main hall (of a hotel, bank, or large bu… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

lobbymain hall (of a hotel, bank, or large building)

Measure word · 个

Examples

。
Jiǔ diàn de dà táng fēi cháng kuān chang míng liàng.
The hotel lobby is very spacious and bright.
，。
Qǐng zài dà táng děng hòu, fú wù yuán huì lái jiē nín.
Please wait in the lobby; the attendant will come to pick you up.
。
Yín háng dà táng lǐ yǒu hěn duō rén zài pái duì.
There are many people queuing in the bank lobby.

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.

“大” large and “堂” hall, together the main hall or lobby.

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.

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

尚

尚shàng堂táng

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

堂 uses 土 as a ground/earth part and 尚 for sound.

Appears in

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