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打鼓 (dǎ gǔ) — to beat a drum, to play the drums; (figurative) to feel uncertain, to be nervous or hesitant (about something)

Definition

Literally 'beat a drum' — the literal sense covers drumming for music or celebration. Figuratively, 心里打鼓 means 'to feel nervous or uncertain,' like your heart is pounding with doubt.

verb
to beat a drumto play the drums(figurative) to feel uncertainto be nervous or hesitant (about something)

Examples

  • 打鼓。
    Tā dǎ gǔ de yàng zi hěn zhuān yè.
    His drumming looks very professional.
  • ，打鼓。
    Yì xiǎng dào míng tiān de miàn shì, wǒ xīn lǐ jiù kāi shǐ dǎ gǔ.
    Whenever I think about tomorrow's interview, my heart starts pounding with doubt.
  • 。
    Tā wèi wǒ dǎ le yì tōng gǔ lái zhù xìng.
    He beat a round of drums to liven things up for me.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

打dǎbeat
鼓gǔdrum

打 (beat) and 鼓 (drum) describe beating a drum.

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.

  • 壴壴zhùdrum
  • 支支zhīhand holding drumstick

鼓 combines 壴, a drum, with 支, a hand holding a drumstick, so the character pictures a drum being struck.

Open 鼓 →
Appears in
Music

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