大 (dà) is a Chinese character meaning “big”. It is written from 一 (one) and 人 (person), and takes 3 strokes. It has a second reading, dài, which turns up in 大夫 — here the two readings are two separate things to learn, not one card with two answers.
Build the character for “big”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
一 + 人
Overlapping structure
Structure from: data-pipeline/sources/dictionary.txt decomposition candidate, verified against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 stroke paths for 大, 一, and 人
Memory aid
Picture a person (人) stretching one horizontal arm-line (一) wide: big.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
3 strokes
In real words
- 大小dà xiǎosize大 = dà
- 伟大wěi dàgreat; mighty大 = dà
- 大众dà zhòngthe general public; the masses大 = dà
- 大伙dà huǒeverybody; all of us大 = dà
- 大伯dà bófather's eldest brother; a polite way to address an older man大 = dà
- 大使dà shǐambassador大 = dà
- 大写dà xiěcapital letter; uppercase; the formal form of a Chinese numeral大 = dà
- 大厅dà tīnglobby; large hall大 = dà
- 大叔dà shūuncle (polite address for a middle-aged man)大 = dà
- 大叫dà jiàoto shout loudly; to cry out大 = dà
- 大吼dà hǒuto roar loudly; to bellow大 = dà
- 大坝dà bàlarge dam大 = dà
- 大声dà shēngloudly; in a loud voice大 = dà
- 大批dà pīa large batch of; a great number of大 = dàHSK 4
- 大爷dà yeuncle (polite address for an older man)大 = dà
- 大约dà yuēapproximately; about大 = dà
- 大纲dà gāngoutline; syllabus大 = dà
- 大肠dà chánglarge intestine大 = dà
- 大臣dà chénminister; high official serving a ruler大 = dà
- 大衣dà yīovercoat; topcoat大 = dà
- 大门dà ménmain gate; entrance door大 = dà
- 大陆dà lùmainland; continent大 = dà
- 大风dà fēngstrong wind; gale大 = dà
- 夸大kuā dàto exaggerate; to overstate大 = dà
- 宏大hóng dàgrand; large-scale大 = dà
- 巨大jù dàhuge; enormous大 = dà
- 广大guǎng dàvast; extensive大 = dà
- 扩大kuò dàto expand; to enlarge; to widen the scope of大 = dà
- 轩然大波xuān rán dà bōa huge uproar; a great disturbance大 = dà
- 兹事体大zī shì tǐ dàthis is a matter of great importance大 = dà
- 大哥dà gēeldest brother; big brother (respectful address)大 = dà
- 大婶dà shěnauntie (polite address for a married woman about one’s mother’s age)大 = dà
- 大家dà jiāeveryone; everybody大 = dàHSK 1
- 大海dà hǎithe sea; the ocean大 = dà
- 大炮dà pàocannon; artillery gun大 = dà
- 大禹Dà YǔYu the Great大 = dà
- 大禹治水Dà Yǔ zhì shuǐYu the Great tames the floods大 = dà
- 大胆dà dǎnbold; daring大 = dà
- 大脑dà nǎobrain; cerebrum大 = dà
- 大葱dà cōngChinese green onion; leek-like scallion大 = dà
- 大言不惭dà yán bù cánto boast shamelessly; to talk big without blushing大 = dà
- 大象dà xiàngelephant大 = dà
- 宽大kuān dàwide; spacious; roomy; lenient大 = dà
- 庞大páng dàhuge; enormous; on a massive scale大 = dà
- 彪形大汉biāo xíng dà hàna big, burly man大 = dà
- 浩大hào dàvast; enormous; huge (in scale)大 = dà
- 皆大欢喜jiē dà huān xǐeveryone is happy; a happy ending for all大 = dà
- 袁大头yuán dà tóusilver dollar coin bearing the head of Yuan Shikai大 = dà
Go deeper
All readings
big
big; large; great
体积、数量或程度较大；也可表示重要或伟大。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 大小dà xiǎosize大 = dà
- 伟大wěi dàgreat; mighty大 = dà
- 大众dà zhòngthe general public; the masses大 = dà
- 大伙dà huǒeverybody; all of us大 = dà
- 大伯dà bófather's eldest brother; a polite way to address an older man大 = dà
- 大使dà shǐambassador大 = dà
- 大写dà xiěcapital letter; uppercase; the formal form of a Chinese numeral大 = dà
- 大厅dà tīnglobby; large hall大 = dà
- 大叔dà shūuncle (polite address for a middle-aged man)大 = dà
- 大叫dà jiàoto shout loudly; to cry out大 = dà
- 大吼dà hǒuto roar loudly; to bellow大 = dà
- 大坝dà bàlarge dam大 = dà
- 大声dà shēngloudly; in a loud voice大 = dà
- 大批dà pīa large batch of; a great number of大 = dàHSK 4
- 大爷dà yeuncle (polite address for an older man)大 = dà
- 大约dà yuēapproximately; about大 = dà
- 大纲dà gāngoutline; syllabus大 = dà
- 大肠dà chánglarge intestine大 = dà
- 大臣dà chénminister; high official serving a ruler大 = dà
- 大衣dà yīovercoat; topcoat大 = dà
- 大门dà ménmain gate; entrance door大 = dà
- 大陆dà lùmainland; continent大 = dà
- 大风dà fēngstrong wind; gale大 = dà
- 夸大kuā dàto exaggerate; to overstate大 = dà
- 宏大hóng dàgrand; large-scale大 = dà
- 巨大jù dàhuge; enormous大 = dà
- 广大guǎng dàvast; extensive大 = dà
- 扩大kuò dàto expand; to enlarge; to widen the scope of大 = dà
- 轩然大波xuān rán dà bōa huge uproar; a great disturbance大 = dà
- 兹事体大zī shì tǐ dàthis is a matter of great importance大 = dà
- 大哥dà gēeldest brother; big brother (respectful address)大 = dà
- 大婶dà shěnauntie (polite address for a married woman about one’s mother’s age)大 = dà
- 大家dà jiāeveryone; everybody大 = dàHSK 1
- 大海dà hǎithe sea; the ocean大 = dà
- 大炮dà pàocannon; artillery gun大 = dà
- 大禹Dà YǔYu the Great大 = dà
- 大禹治水Dà Yǔ zhì shuǐYu the Great tames the floods大 = dà
- 大胆dà dǎnbold; daring大 = dà
- 大脑dà nǎobrain; cerebrum大 = dà
- 大葱dà cōngChinese green onion; leek-like scallion大 = dà
- 大言不惭dà yán bù cánto boast shamelessly; to talk big without blushing大 = dà
- 大象dà xiàngelephant大 = dà
- 宽大kuān dàwide; spacious; roomy; lenient大 = dà
- 庞大páng dàhuge; enormous; on a massive scale大 = dà
- 彪形大汉biāo xíng dà hàna big, burly man大 = dà
- 浩大hào dàvast; enormous; huge (in scale)大 = dà
- 皆大欢喜jiē dà huān xǐeveryone is happy; a happy ending for all大 = dà
- 袁大头yuán dà tóusilver dollar coin bearing the head of Yuan Shikai大 = dà
doctor
pronounced dài in the word 大夫, meaning doctor
在“大夫”（医生）一词中读 dài。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 大夫dài fudoctor大 = dài
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 大 mean?
大 (dà) means big; large; great.
How do you pronounce 大?
Its main reading is dà. It also has a second reading, dài, which only shows up in certain words such as 大夫 — so the word tells you the reading, not the character on its own.
Why is 大 sometimes pronounced dài?
Because it is a multi-reading character: each reading carries a different sense, and the word decides which one applies. In 大夫 it is read dài.
What parts is 大 made of?
一 (one) and 人 (person). The recorded source is: data-pipeline/sources/dictionary.txt decomposition candidate, verified against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 stroke paths for 大, 一, and 人. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 大 have?
3. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 大?
大. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 大?
Common ones are 大小. The reading of 大 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.