搭 (dā): to put up; to build; to erect

Meanings

1 to put up; to build; to erect
2 to travel by (vehicle); to take (a ride)
3 to connect; to join; to hang over

Characters

搭

dā

to build; to ride (a vehicle)

Examples

工人在搭脚手架。

Gōngrén zài dā jiǎoshǒujià.

Workers are putting up scaffolding.

我搭了一辆出租车去机场。

Wǒ dā le yī liàng chūzūchē qù jīchǎng.

I took a taxi to the airport.

他搭了邻居的便车。

Tā dā le línjū de biànchē.

He hitched a ride with the neighbor.

把毛巾搭在椅背上。

Bǎ máojīn dā zài yǐbèi shàng.

Drape the towel over the back of the chair.

Tips

usage

搭 has many uses: 搭帐篷 (pitch a tent), 搭车 (hitch a ride), 搭桥 (build a bridge), 搭配 (match/pair up), 搭档 (partner). The core idea is connecting or putting things together.

memory

Hand radical 扌+ 荅 — using your hands to put things together, building or connecting.

Components

radical

扌 shǒu

hand

Left-side hand radical, side-form of 手 — the indexing radical. Marks 搭 as a hand-action: building, putting together, draping, joining. The hand assembles or connects things. Family compounds: 搭桥 build a bridge, 搭配 match (clothes, ingredients), 搭话 strike up a conversation, 搭车 catch a ride.

phonetic

荅 dā

bean (here phonetic)

Right side 荅 supplies the sound — dá → dā, tone shift. 荅 originally named a small bean (艹 grass + 合 join) and is the older form of 答 answer. Same phonetic: 答 dá, 塔 tǎ tower. The 'answer' meaning faintly resonates with 搭话 (strike up a conversation), but the role is mainly phonetic.