p8nda
p8nda BETA
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挡

擋
dǎng / dàng
verb HSK 5 #2,579

Meanings

  1. 1 to block; to obstruct; to stand in the way
  2. 2 to resist; to ward off; to shield
  3. 3 gear (of a vehicle)

Examples

别挡住我的路！
Bié dǎngzhù wǒ de lù!
Don't block my way!
用手挡住阳光。
Yòng shǒu dǎngzhù yángguāng.
Block the sunlight with your hand.
换挡的时候要踩离合器。
Huàndǎng de shíhou yào cǎi líhéqì.
Step on the clutch when shifting gears.

Tips

usage
Two semantic clusters under dǎng: (1) the verb 'block, obstruct, fend off' - 挡住, 挡路, 挡风, 抵挡, 阻挡, 遮挡; (2) the gearbox noun 'gear, transmission position' - 换挡 (shift gear), 自动挡 (automatic), 手动挡 (manual), 空挡 (neutral), 低速挡 (low gear). The two meanings unify nicely: a gear is the position that 'catches and holds' the engine's force.
memory
Hand 扌 + 当 (face, take on) → using a hand to face whatever's coming at you. Drop one tone from dāng to dǎng and you have the verb. Same phonetic series: 档 (file, folder, slot) and 铛 (cooking pan).

Components

radical
扌 shǒu
hand radical
Left radical 扌 is the side-form of 手 (hand). It marks 挡 as a hand-action: blocking, fending off, parrying. The hand radical groups 挡 with the family of physical-contact verbs - 打 (hit), 拉 (pull), 推 (push), 挂 (hang), 挑 (carry on shoulder pole).
phonetic
当 dāng
to be; appropriate
Right phonetic 当 supplies the sound - dāng shifted to dǎng through tone change only. 当 itself means 'to face, take on, be appropriate', and its 'standing in front of' sense bleeds through faintly: to 挡 something is to interpose your hand and face the incoming force. Same phonetic series in 档 (file/folder) and 铛 (cooking pan).

Stroke Order

挡 dǎng