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verb / preposition HSK 2
Traditional 當
dāng
to serve as · to act as · to be · when · at the time of

Meaning

当 is a highly versatile character with two main uses: as a verb meaning 'to serve as' or 'to act as' (e.g., 当老师 'to be a teacher'), and as a preposition/conjunction meaning 'when' or 'at the time of' (e.g., 当时 'at that time'). It's one of the most common characters in Mandarin and appears in countless compound words and grammatical patterns.

Usage

As a verb, 当 often appears in the pattern 当 + noun to describe someone's role or profession. As a conjunction meaning 'when', it's more formal than 的时候 and often appears in written Chinese. The character 当 can also be pronounced 'dàng' with different meanings (to consider as, to pawn), but 'dāng' is the primary pronunciation.

Examples

  1. 01
    我想当医生。
    Wǒ xiǎng dāng yīshēng.
    I want to be a doctor.
  2. 02
    当我到家的时候，他已经走了。
    Dāng wǒ dào jiā de shíhou, tā yǐjīng zǒu le.
    When I got home, he had already left.

Common collocations

  • 当老师
    dāng lǎoshī
    to be a teacher
  • 当心
    dāngxīn
    to be careful
  • 当天
    dāngtiān
    that very day
  • 当作
    dāngzuò
    to treat as, to regard as

Origin

The traditional form 當 originally depicted a field (田) with a mark or weight, relating to 'bearing responsibility' or 'being in charge of'. The simplified form 当 reduces the complexity while maintaining the core meaning.

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