答 (dá) · to answer; to reply

Meanings

1 to answer; to reply
2 to respond; to return (a favor)

Characters

答

dá

to answer; to reply

Examples

HSK 1

请回答这个问题。

Qǐng huídá zhège wèntí.

Please answer this question.

HSK 1

他的回答是对的。

Tā de huídá shì duì de.

His answer is correct.

HSK 7-9

我很想报答她的恩情。

Wǒ hěn xiǎng bàodá tā de ēnqíng.

I really want to repay her kindness.

Tips

usage

The default reading dá covers all 'answer / reply / respond' senses and the 'repay a kindness' extension. Showpiece compounds: 回答 (to answer), 答案 (answer / solution), 报答 (to repay), 问答 (Q&A), 答辩 (to defend a thesis).

register

A second reading 答 (first tone) is bound to a small set of colloquial compounds - most importantly 答应 (to agree / to promise) and 答理 (to acknowledge / pay attention to). Default to dá; switch to dā only in those fixed expressions.

Components

radical

⺮ zhú

bamboo (top radical form)

Top bamboo radical - the squashed-down form of 竹 used when bamboo sits on top of a character. The indexing radical of 答 (Kangxi #118). Carries the literal etymology: replies were originally written on strips of bamboo and sent back to the asker. Same radical anchors 笔 (brush), 笑 (laugh), 等 (wait), 简 (bamboo strip / letter), 算 (calculate) - the entire bamboo-implement family.

phonetic

合 hé

join; combine; match

Bottom component supplies the sound (合 to dá, with significant Old Chinese drift across initial categories) and a strong semantic echo: 合 means 'to match, to fit together' - exactly what an answer does to a question. So 答 is etymologically 'a bamboo strip that matches' - a reply slip paired with the original question. Same phonetic in 拾 (pick up - different drift), 给 (give).