答理 (dā li) — to acknowledge (someone's greeting), to respond…

Definition

A colloquial verb meaning 'to acknowledge, to take notice of', almost always used in the negative (没答理, 不答理 = 'to ignore, pay no attention').

verb

to acknowledge (someone's greeting)to respond(used chiefly in the negative) to take notice of

答理，。
Tā cóng lái bù dā li bié rén, zǒng shì zhuāng zuò méi kàn jiàn.
He never acknowledges others; he always pretends not to see them.
，答理。
Wǒ jiào le tā hǎo jǐ shēng, tā dōu méi dā li.
I called her several times, but she didn't respond at all.
答理，。
Nǐ bié dā li nà zhǒng rén, bù zhí dé.
Don't pay attention to that kind of person; it's not worth it.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

理lǐtake notice

The 答 'answer' and 理 'take notice' parts combine to mean acknowledging someone's greeting.

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.

竹合答

Meaning part形符xíngfú

竹竹zhúbamboo

Sound part声符shēngfú

合

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

答 pairs 竹 (bamboo) with 合 as the sound part; the bamboo top replaced an older grass part by mistake.

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

玉玉yùjade

Sound part声符shēngfú

里

Same sound today

理 pairs 玉 (jade) with 里, which shows how to say it; the jade part points to the old sense of polishing jade.