悼 (dào) — to mourn, to lament (formal, often used in compound words)
Definition
Formal verb meaning 'to mourn, to lament,' usually appearing in set expressions like 追悼, 哀悼, or 悼念 — not used alone in everyday speech.
verb
to mournto lament (formal, often used in compound words)
Easily confused
- 掉diàolook-aliketo fall; to drop
- 到dàosound-alike(verb) to arrive at, to reach (a place or time)
- 绰chāolook-alike(bound form, pronounced chuò) ample, spacious, graceful
- 道dàosound-alike(noun) road, path; principle, morality; method, skill; the Dao (of Daoism)
- 盗dàosound-aliketo steal, to rob, to plunder (formal; often used in compounds)
- 稻dàosound-alikepaddy (rice plant); unhusked rice grain
Examples
- 。Rén men jù zài yì qǐ dào niàn sǐ zhě.People gathered together to mourn the deceased.
- ，。Zài zhuī dào huì shàng, tā fā biǎo le gǎn rén de yǎn shuō.At the memorial service, he delivered a moving speech.
- 。Dà jiā dōu chén jìn zài āi dào zhī zhōng.Everyone was immersed in mourning.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
In 悼, the left side 忄 is a narrow form of 心, the heart, marking the feeling of mourning, while the right side 卓 gives the sound.
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