TongTong
Sign in

应对 (yìng duì) — to deal with; to cope with; to handle; to respond; to reply

Definition

应对 (yìngduì) means 'to deal with / cope with' a situation or challenge — used more for handling problems than for replying to questions (use 回答 for that). More formal than 应付, which can also imply getting by half-heartedly.

verb
to deal withto cope withto handleto respondto reply

Examples

  • ，应对。
    Miàn duì tū fā qíng kuàng, tā lěng jìng yìng duì.
    He calmly dealt with the unexpected situation.
  • 应对。
    Wǒ men xū yào xué huì rú hé yìng duì gè zhǒng tiǎo zhàn.
    We need to learn how to cope with various challenges.
  • 应对。
    Jì zhě de wèn tí hěn nán yìng duì.
    The reporter's questions were hard to answer.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

应yìngrespond
对duìreply

应 and 对 both involve replying or facing, together naming a response.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 應; 应 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
䧹
䧹䧹應yìng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 應 pairs 心 (heart) with 䧹 as a sound part; the simplified 应 is a later shorthand and its parts are not the original components.

Open 应 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 對; 对 is its simplified writing.

For the traditional form 對, the shape comes from an early drawing of 丵 (a digging tool), 土 (earth), and 又 (a hand); it may have meant developing land.

Open 对 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5Abstract Concepts

Browse more HSK 5 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.