Right phonetic
董 supplies the sound — dǒng matches directly with no shift.
董 itself means 'to oversee, direct', which carries faint semantic flavour: to
懂 something is to oversee it mentally, get a grip on it.
董 is also a common surname (
董事长 'chairman' literally 'oversight elder'). Same phonetic in
懂 alone but
董 itself is widely seen.