耷 (dā) · to droop; to hang down

Meanings

1 to droop; to hang down
2 big ears

Characters

耷

dā

to droop; big ears

Examples

HSK 6

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.

HSK 7-9

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.

Tips

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").

Components

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.

Stroke Order

耷 dā

Related Words

耷拉 dāla #31,901

to droop / to hang down / to dangle limply

倒下 dǎoxià #4,263

to fall down / to collapse / to be struck down

打倒 dǎdǎo HSK 7-9 #5,212

to overthrow / to knock down / down with

垂 chuí HSK 7-9 #8,793

to hang down; to droop / to approach; on the verge of

大鱼 dàyú #8,550

big fish / big shot; important person; major target

大火 dàhuǒ #5,009

big fire / blaze / conflagration / high heat (cooking)

大人物 dàrénwù #4,686

big shot / VIP / important person

倒数 dàoshǔ HSK 7-9 #4,209

to count backwards; to count down / counting from the bottom (of a ranking or list)

大不了 dàbuliǎo HSK 7-9 #3,115

at worst / if worst comes to worst / no big deal

大哥 dàgē #2,892

eldest brother; big brother / buddy; bro (informal address to a man)