字Study Chinese Characters
打

dǎ to hit; to strike

5 strokes

打 (dǎ) is a Chinese character meaning “to hit”. It is written from 扌 (hand (radical form)) and 丁 (fourth; adult man), side by side, and takes 5 strokes.

Build the character for “to hit; to strike”

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Structure

扌 + 丁

Left–right structure

  • 扌 hand (radical form) · shǒu meaning
  • 丁 fourth heavenly stem; adult male · dīng sound

Structure from: 说文解字（打，擊也。从手丁聲）

Memory aid

A hand (扌) swings at a nail (丁) — that is what 打 does: hit it, strike it.

This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.

Stroke order

5 strokes

In real words

  • 打开dǎ kāito open; to turn on; to unfold打 = dǎ
  • 打击dǎ jīto strike; to hit; a blow打 = dǎ
  • 扑打pū dǎto swat; to beat at; to pat打 = dǎ
  • 打仗dǎ zhàngto fight a war; to go into battle打 = dǎ
  • 打伞dǎ sǎnto hold up an umbrella打 = dǎspoken asdá sǎn
  • 打印dǎ yìnto print (a document)打 = dǎHSK 3
  • 打夯dǎ hāngto tamp earth with a rammer打 = dǎ
  • 打岔dǎ chàto interrupt; to cut in on someone打 = dǎ
  • 打扫dǎ sǎoto clean up; to tidy up打 = dǎspoken asdá sǎo
  • 打扮dǎ bànto dress up; to make oneself up打 = dǎHSK 4
  • 打扰dǎ rǎoto disturb; to bother打 = dǎspoken asdá rǎo
  • 打折dǎ zhéto give a discount; to be on sale打 = dǎHSK 4
  • 打败dǎ bàito defeat; to beat打 = dǎ
  • 打针dǎ zhēnto give or get an injection打 = dǎ
  • 拨打bō dǎto dial (a phone number); to place a call打 = dǎ
  • 殴打ōu dǎto beat up; to assault打 = dǎ
  • 打垮dǎ kuǎto defeat; to smash; to crush打 = dǎspoken asdá kuǎ
  • 打拳dǎ quánto box; to practise martial arts (shadowboxing etc.)打 = dǎ
  • 打捞dǎ lāoto salvage; to retrieve from the water打 = dǎ
  • 打搅dǎ jiǎoto disturb; to bother打 = dǎspoken asdá jiǎo
  • 打桩dǎ zhuāngto drive piles (into the ground)打 = dǎ
  • 打猎dǎ lièto go hunting打 = dǎ
  • 打盹dǎ dǔnto doze off; to take a nap打 = dǎspoken asdá dǔn
  • 打破dǎ pòto break; to smash; to break (a record or silence)打 = dǎ
  • 打骂dǎ màto beat and scold; to abuse physically and verbally打 = dǎ
  • 挨打ái dǎto take a beating; to get hit打 = dǎ
  • 捶打chuí dǎto beat; to pound打 = dǎ
Go deeper

All readings

dǎ main reading

to hit; to strike

to hit; to strike; to beat; also a general-purpose verb for doing things with the hands (open, make a call, fetch water)

用手或器具撞击物体；也泛指用手进行的许多动作，如打开、打电话。 — studyhanzi 编写

Words with this reading

  • 打开dǎ kāito open; to turn on; to unfold打 = dǎ
  • 打击dǎ jīto strike; to hit; a blow打 = dǎ
  • 扑打pū dǎto swat; to beat at; to pat打 = dǎ
  • 打仗dǎ zhàngto fight a war; to go into battle打 = dǎ
  • 打伞dǎ sǎnto hold up an umbrella打 = dǎspoken asdá sǎn
  • 打印dǎ yìnto print (a document)打 = dǎHSK 3
  • 打夯dǎ hāngto tamp earth with a rammer打 = dǎ
  • 打岔dǎ chàto interrupt; to cut in on someone打 = dǎ
  • 打扫dǎ sǎoto clean up; to tidy up打 = dǎspoken asdá sǎo
  • 打扮dǎ bànto dress up; to make oneself up打 = dǎHSK 4
  • 打扰dǎ rǎoto disturb; to bother打 = dǎspoken asdá rǎo
  • 打折dǎ zhéto give a discount; to be on sale打 = dǎHSK 4
  • 打败dǎ bàito defeat; to beat打 = dǎ
  • 打针dǎ zhēnto give or get an injection打 = dǎ
  • 拨打bō dǎto dial (a phone number); to place a call打 = dǎ
  • 殴打ōu dǎto beat up; to assault打 = dǎ
  • 打垮dǎ kuǎto defeat; to smash; to crush打 = dǎspoken asdá kuǎ
  • 打拳dǎ quánto box; to practise martial arts (shadowboxing etc.)打 = dǎ
  • 打捞dǎ lāoto salvage; to retrieve from the water打 = dǎ
  • 打搅dǎ jiǎoto disturb; to bother打 = dǎspoken asdá jiǎo
  • 打桩dǎ zhuāngto drive piles (into the ground)打 = dǎ
  • 打猎dǎ lièto go hunting打 = dǎ
  • 打盹dǎ dǔnto doze off; to take a nap打 = dǎspoken asdá dǔn
  • 打破dǎ pòto break; to smash; to break (a record or silence)打 = dǎ
  • 打骂dǎ màto beat and scold; to abuse physically and verbally打 = dǎ
  • 挨打ái dǎto take a beating; to get hit打 = dǎ
  • 捶打chuí dǎto beat; to pound打 = dǎ

Rare readings, not taught: dá

Other characters with these parts

扌 → 势扎扑扒扔托扛扣

丁 → 厅叮可宁寸才灯盯

Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions

Questions people ask about this character

What does 打 mean?

打 (dǎ) means to hit; to strike; to beat; also a general-purpose verb for doing things with the hands (open, make a call, fetch water).

How do you pronounce 打?

It is pronounced dǎ.

What parts is 打 made of?

扌 (hand (radical form)) and 丁 (fourth; adult man), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字（打，擊也。从手丁聲）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.

How many strokes does 打 have?

5. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.

What is the radical of 打?

手. 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 打?

Common ones are 打开 and 打击. The reading of 打 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.