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打发 (dǎ fa) — to send (someone) away; to dismiss or dispatch (someone) to do something; to pass (the time); to kill time

Definition

At HSK 7, 打发 means 'to send (someone) away / dismiss' (often dismissively, like brushing off a salesman) or 'to pass / kill time'. Don't confuse with 赐 or 赏 — those are formal verbs for a superior bestowing something; 打发 has no 'bestow' sense here.

verb
to send (someone) awayto dismiss or dispatch (someone) to do somethingto pass (the time)to kill time

Examples

  • 打发。
    Tā cháng cháng yòng wán yóu xì lái dǎ fa shí jiān.
    He often passes the time by playing games.
  • 打发。
    Mā ma bǎ nà ge tuī xiāo yuán dǎ fa zǒu le.
    Mom sent that salesman away.
  • 打发。
    Jīng lǐ dǎ fa tā qù jī chǎng jiē kè hù.
    The manager dispatched him to the airport to pick up a client.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

打dǎdeal with
发fāsend

打 and 发 both point to sending or dealing with someone, so 打发 means to dispatch or send away; the time sense is an extension.

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
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.

Open 打 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 發; 发 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 发 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (爆发, 出发) it is 發; in others (理发, 头发) it is 髮.

The form 發, which 发 stands for in many words, was originally drawn as a bow firing an arrow.

Open 发 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Communication & SpeechTime (Abstract)

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