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

HSK 1
别挡住我的路！
Bié dǎngzhù wǒ de lù!
Don't block my way!
HSK 3
用手挡住阳光。
Yòng shǒu dǎngzhù yángguāng.
Block the sunlight with your hand.
HSK 7-9
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