自打 (zì dá) — (conjunction, colloquial) ever since, from (a p…

Definition

Colloquial conjunction meaning 'ever since / from (a point in time)'. More everyday and informal than 从…以后, often shortened to 自从.

conjunction

(conjunction, colloquial) ever sincefrom (a point in time)

自打，。
zì dá Tā lái le yǐ hòu, gōng sī jiù biàn hǎo le.
Ever since he came, the company has improved.
自打，。
zì dá Qù nián kāi shǐ, wǒ jiù méi zài jiàn guò tā.
Since last year, I haven't seen her again.
自打，。
zì dá Xué le zhōng wén, tā měi tiān dōu kàn zhōng guó xīn wén.
Ever since he started learning Chinese, he reads Chinese news every day.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

自 and 打 both indicate 'from', so together they mean ever since.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

自 originally drew a nose. It was borrowed purely for its sound to write 自, so the picture and the meaning are unrelated.

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.

Appears in