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懂事 (dǒng shì) — sensible and considerate (often of a child); mature and socially aware

Definition

Said mostly of children/young people who behave maturely and read social cues — closer to 'considerate and aware' than simply clever. Lighter than 周到 (thorough, planned) and more about social maturity than 明智 (wise judgment).

adjective
sensible and considerate (often of a child)mature and socially aware
Easily confused

Examples

  • 懂事，。
    Zhè ge hái zi hěn dǒng shì, zhī dào gěi mā ma dào shuǐ.
    This child is very sensible, knowing to pour water for mom.
  • ，懂事，。
    Tā suī rán nián qīng, dàn hěn dǒng shì, zuò shì zhōu dào.
    Although she is young, she is very mature and does things thoroughly.
  • 懂事，。
    Tā bú tài dǒng shì, zǒng shì rě má fan.
    He is not very sensible, always causing trouble.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

懂dǒngunderstand
事shìaffairs

懂 (understand) and 事 (affairs) together describe someone who understands what is going on.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
董
董dǒng懂dǒng
Same sound today

懂 is built from 心, the heart, and 董, which gives the sound.

Open 懂 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Personality & Traits

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