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打 (dǎ) — (loanword, measure word) dozen

Definition

As a preposition borrowed from a Taiwanese pronunciation of "dozen," 打 is used in mainland Chinese as a colloquial measure word for "a dozen" — mainly with eggs, beer, and similar goods.

preposition
(loanword, measure word) dozen
Easily confused

Examples

  • 打。
    Wǒ yào mǎi yì dǎ jī dàn.
    I want to buy a dozen eggs.
  • 打。
    Zhè zhǒng pí jiǔ àn dǎ mài bǐ jiào pián yi.
    This kind of beer is cheaper when sold by the dozen.
  • 打。
    Tā mǎi le sān dǎ xiāng jiāo.
    He bought three dozen bananas.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng打dǎ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

打 uses 扌, a hand, to show an action done with the hand, and 丁 to give the sound.

Grammar

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9500 Most Frequent Chinese Words1000 Most Frequent Chinese WordsMeasure Words2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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