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每当 (měi dāng) — whenever; every time

Definition

A conjunction-like adverb meaning 'whenever' or 'every time', linking a repeated condition to a habitual result (typically followed by 就). It emphasizes the regularity or inevitability of the consequence each time the condition occurs.

adverb
wheneverevery time

Examples

  • 每当，。
    měi dāng Tīng dào zhè shǒu gē, wǒ jiù xiǎng qǐ guò qù.
    Whenever I hear this song, I think of the past.
  • 每当，。
    měi dāng Fàng jià, wǒ dōu huì qù lǚ yóu.
    Whenever it's a holiday, I always go traveling.
  • 每当，。
    měi dāng Xià yǔ, zhè tiáo lù jiù biàn de hěn huá.
    Whenever it rains, this road becomes very slippery.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

每měievery
当dāngwhen

每 means every and 当 means when, giving the sense every time or whenever.

Characters in this word

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

每 shows 母, a woman, with a top part resembling 屮. That part may represent a hairpin marking her as grown up, or a sprout marking her as ready to marry and have children.

Open 每 →

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 當; 当 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
田田tiánfield
Sound part声符shēngfú
尚
尚shàng當dāng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 當 combines 田 (field) with 尚; the evidence describes fields facing each other.

Open 当 →
Appears in
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