搭伙 (dā huǒ) — to join up with someone, to collaborate; to eat regular meals (at a cafeteria or as part of a meal plan)

Definition

A colloquial verb with two main uses: 'to team up / partner with someone' (often for business or a shared activity), and 'to take regular meals somewhere' (like a cafeteria) instead of cooking.

verb
to join up with someoneto collaborateto eat regular meals (at a cafeteria or as part of a meal plan)

Examples

  • 搭伙。
    Tā men dā huǒ zuò qǐ le xiǎo shēng yì.
    They teamed up and started a small business.
  • 搭伙，。
    Wǒ zài gōng sī shí táng dā huǒ, bú yòng zì jǐ zuò fàn.
    I eat at the company cafeteria, so I don't need to cook for myself.
  • ，。
    Tā dā le yí gè yuè de huǒ, hòu lái jiù bān zǒu le.
    He ate meals there for a month, and then moved away.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

搭dājoin
伙huǒgroup

“搭伙” joins with a group to share meals or work.

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
荅
荅dá搭dā
Same sound today

搭 is built from 扌, a hand, and 荅, which gives the sound. The hand part points to actions done with the hand.

Open 搭 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 夥; 伙 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 伙 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (大伙儿, 伙) it is 夥; in others (小伙子) it is 伙.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
多多duō
Sound part声符shēngfú
果
果guǒ夥huǒ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 夥 combines 多 (many) with 果 as a sound part. The simplified 伙 is a shorthand, so its parts are not the historical parts.

Open 伙 →

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