当事 (dāng shì) — to take (something) seriously, to treat as important

Definition

Usually appears as the 把-construction 当回事, meaning 'to take something seriously'. A more casual alternative to 重视, with 认真 emphasizing earnest effort instead.

verb
to take (something) seriouslyto treat as important

Examples

  • 当事。
    Tā cóng lái bù bǎ bié rén de jiàn yì dāng shì.
    He never takes other people's advice seriously.
  • ，。
    Zhè jiàn shì nǐ dé dāng yì huí shì, bù néng mǎ hu.
    You need to take this matter seriously — you can't be careless.
  • 当事，。
    Bié tài dāng shì, tā zhǐ shì kāi gè wán xiào.
    Don't take it too seriously; he's just joking.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

当dāngtreat
事shìmatter

"当" means treat and "事" means matter, so it expresses taking a matter seriously.

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 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 →

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

In 事, 又 is a hand and 中 is a flagpole with a drum; holding a flag in hand depicts performing a job.

Open 事 →

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