ZHIZHI 知止 · LEARN CHINESE DAILY
答
to answer
dá
12 strokes · ⺮ (bamboo radical) + 合 (to join/fit) · HSK 2
What 答 is made of
竹 + 合 = 答
Where 答 comes from
答 is bamboo ⺮ over 合 'to fit together'. Replies once traveled on bamboo slips, and a good answer is one that fits the question — the character weds the medium to the logic.
答 in Chinese culture
回答 is to answer, 答案 the answer key every student hunts for, 答应 to agree or promise. 答 is the rhythm of the classroom: 问 asks, 答 answers, and exams are 答卷 — answering the paper.
Example
回答 huídá — to answer
请回答我的问题。
Qǐng huídá wǒ de wèntí.
Please answer my question.
How to remember it
Bamboo ⺮ slip that FITS 合 the question — an ANSWER.
答应 'answer-respond' means to promise — in Chinese, merely answering someone edges toward commitment, which is why silence is sometimes the safer reply.
Same sound, different tones
搭
1st dā
to put up; take (a ride)
Words unlocked by 答
回答 huídá
to answer
答案 dá'àn
the answer
回答问题 huídá wèntí
to answer a question
Related characters
LEARN 答 WITH STROKE-BY-STROKE WRITING → DOWNLOAD ZHIZHI
One character a morning · 455-character HSK library · iOS