打孔 (dǎ kǒng) — to drill a hole; to perforate | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A verb meaning 'to drill or punch a hole' — a separable verb (离合词) where 打 and 孔 can split with a 了 or a measure word between them, as in 打了一个孔.

verb

to drill a holeto perforate

Examples

打孔。
Tā yào yòng jī qì dǎ kǒng.
He needs to drill a hole with a machine.
。
Tā zài qiáng shàng dǎ le yí gè kǒng.
He drilled a hole in the wall.
打孔。
Zhè xiē wén jiàn xū yào xiān dǎ kǒng zài zhuāng dìng.
These documents need to be punched before binding.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

打dǎmake/drill

打 means to make or drill, 孔 is a hole, so the action is to make a hole.

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.

扌丁打

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

丁

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.

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

丿丿piěopening
子子zǐchild

孔 pairs 丿 (an opening) with 子 (a child), showing an opening in a newborn's skull.

Appears in

Industry & Manufacturing

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