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对
correct; toward; pair
duì
5 strokes · 又 (hand) + 寸 (inch/rule) — a hand measuring against a standard · HSK 1
对 in traditional Chinese
對
What 对 is made of
又 + 寸 = 对
寸inch; a small measure cùn
Where 对 comes from
A hand (又) held against a measuring rule (寸): checking something against the standard. What matches the standard is correct; facing something to compare it gave 'toward'.
对 in Chinese culture
对 is the Swiss-army knife of Mandarin: 对不起 sorry, 对了 'oh right!', 面对 to face. Agree with someone? Just say 对对对 — the triple 对 is practically punctuation in Chinese conversation.
Example
对不起 duìbuqǐ — sorry
你说得对。
Nǐ shuō de duì.
What you said is right.
How to remember it
A HAND against the RULER — checking it's CORRECT.
对 also means 'a pair' — 一对 couple. Correctness and coupling share one character: things that match.
Same sound, different tones
Words unlocked by 对
对不起 duìbuqǐ
sorry
面对 miànduì
to face
Related characters
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