耷 (dā): to droop; to hang down

Meanings

听了批评，他耷拉着脑袋不说话。

Tīng le pīpíng, tā dāla zhe nǎodai bù shuōhuà.

Hearing the scolding, he dropped his head and said nothing.

那只狗的耳朵耷拉着，样子很温顺。

Nà zhī gǒu de ěrduo dāla zhe, yàngzi hěn wēnshùn.

The dog's ears droop down, and it looks very gentle.

usage

耷 first meant big drooping ears. Today it lives almost only in 耷拉, "to droop / hang limply", as in 耷拉着脑袋 ("head hanging down").

radical

耳 ěr

ear

耳 is the ear radical at the bottom, making the original "big ears" sense of 耷 transparent.

semantic

大 dà

big

大 ("big") sits above the ear and also lends the dā sound. Big ears that hang low give 耷 its meaning of drooping.

耷 dā