打坐 (dǎ zuò) — to sit in meditation (Buddhist/Daoist practice)

Definition

A Buddhist/Daoist sitting-meditation practice, done for a set period (often with a measure word or duration). The separable 打…坐 pattern marks a practice event: 打了一个小时的坐. Not everyday 'sitting down' (which is 坐下).

verb
to sit in meditation (Buddhist/Daoist practice)

Examples

  • 打坐。
    Tā měi tiān zǎo shàng dōu huì dǎ zuò yì xiǎo shí.
    He meditates for an hour every morning.
  • 打坐。
    Shī fu shuō dǎ zuò de shí hou yào xīn jìng.
    The master says you must keep your mind calm when sitting in meditation.
  • ，。
    Wǒ dǎ le yí gè xiǎo shí de zuò, gǎn jué shū fu duō le.
    I meditated for an hour and felt much more relaxed.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

打dǎdo
坐zuòsit

打 means do and 坐 means sit; the word describes the practice of sitting in meditation.

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 →

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

The form 坐 combines 留, 'to stay', and 土, 'ground'.

Open 坐 →

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