顿 (dùn) — (classifier) for meals; (classifier) for beatings, scoldings, or other actions considered as a bout; (verb) to pause; to stop briefly
Definition
As a classifier, 顿 is paired with meals (一顿饭) and bouts of punishment/scolding. As a verb, it means a brief pause; 停顿 is a more formal synonym for halting or breaking off in speech.
classifier
for mealsfor beatings, scoldings, or other actions considered as a bout
verb
to pauseto stop briefly
Easily confused
Examples
- 顿。Wǒ měi tiān chī sān dùn fàn.I eat three meals every day.
- 顿。Tā zuó tiān bèi lǎo shī mà le yí dùn.He was scolded by the teacher yesterday.
- 顿，。Tā dùn le yí xià, rán hòu jì xù shuō.He paused for a moment, then continued speaking.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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 頓; 顿 is its simplified writing.
Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yè
Sound part声符shēngfú
屯
屯tún頓dùn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
The traditional form 頓 combines 屯, drawn as a kneeling person's head, with 頁, and expresses a bow or kowtow. The simplified 顿 replaces 頁 with 页.
Appears in
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