打 (dá) · dozen

Meanings

1 dozen

Characters

打

dá

dozen

Examples

HSK 1

我买了一打鸡蛋。

Wǒ mǎi le yī dá jīdàn.

I bought a dozen eggs.

HSK 4

他订了半打啤酒。

Tā dìng le bàn dá píjiǔ.

He ordered half a dozen beers.

HSK 4

这一打袜子才五十块。

Zhè yī dá wàzi cái wǔshí kuài.

This dozen pairs of socks is only 50 yuan.

Tips

usage

The dá reading is a phonetic loan from English 'dozen,' used as a counting unit for items sold in twelves - eggs, beer, socks, pens. It appears almost exclusively in two patterns: 一打 (a dozen) and 半打 (half a dozen). Don't confuse with the verb 打 - the context (number + measure-word slot before a noun) makes the dá reading unambiguous.

memory

Hear 'dah' and think 'dozen' - both start with d, both came from English. The 打 reading exists for this one borrowing and nothing else; everywhere else, 打 is the 'hit/do' verb.

Components

radical

扌 shǒu

hand (radical form of 手)

Left-side hand radical - side-form of 手. The prototype hand-action character. Almost every striking, grabbing, throwing, or manipulating verb is filed here: 拉 (pull), 拍 (clap), 抓 (grab), 接 (catch), 推 (push), 扔 (throw). 打 is the foundational member of this family.

phonetic

丁 dīng

nail; man; fourth

Right-side 丁 supplies the sound - dīng shifted to dǎ here (a notable rime change; older Mandarin readings were closer to dǐng/dīng, and the char still rhymes that way in some dialects). 丁 itself pictures a nail head - mnemonic: hand 扌 hammering a nail 丁 = to hit. Same phonetic series: 顶 (top), 钉 (nail), 订 (order).