当

當
dāng
HSK 4
#71 most
frequent character
to be, to act as, manage, withstand
verb
preposition
conjunction

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

当 is a short form of 當, 尚 shàng plus 田 field, first meaning 'fields in a row'. Meanings grew to 'face', 'match', 'serve a duty', 'use as'. Read dàng, it gives 'appropriate', 'same', 'collateral', 'pawn' and 'treat as same'. The 'ding-dong' sense was borrowed for sound.

当 as a component in other characters

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Example Sentences

当你到达的时候，请给我打电话。
dāng nǐ dàodá de shíhòu ， qǐng gěi wǒ dǎdiànhuà 。
Please call me when you arrive.
我想当一个医生。
wǒxiǎng dāng yígè yīshēng 。
I want to be a doctor.
当我在北京的时候，我会去看长城。
dāng wǒzài běijīng de shíhòu ， wǒhuìqù kàn chángchéng 。
I will visit the Great Wall when I am in Beijing.

Words with similar meanings

作为zuòwéi
to act as
更多强调作为某种角色或身份，常用于正式场合。
担任dānrèn
to assume (a position)
通常用于描述担任某个职务或角色，强调职责和责任。

Words Starting With 当

当然dāng rán
only natural; as it should be; certainly; of course; without doubt
当地dāng dì
local
当时dāng shí
then; at that time; while
当代dāng dài
the present age; the contemporary era
当事人dāng shì rén
persons involved or implicated; party (to an affair)

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