打印 (dǎ yìn) — Chinese Word

verb HSK 4

dǎ yìn

to print · to make a printout

Meaning

打印 literally means 'to strike/hit印' where 印 means 'seal' or 'print.' It refers to the modern action of printing documents, images, or text using a printer. This is the standard term used in Mainland China for computer/printer-based printing.

Usage

打印 is the everyday term for printing documents in offices, schools, and homes. It's used for both the action of printing and giving print commands. Native speakers commonly say '打印出来' (to print out) or '打印一份' (to print a copy). In Taiwan, people more often use '列印' (liè yìn) instead.

Examples

01
请帮我打印十份这个文件。
Qǐng bāng wǒ dǎ yìn shí fèn zhège wén jiàn.
Please help me print ten copies of this document.
02
打印机坏了，我需要去外面打印。
Dǎ yìn jī huài le, wǒ xū yào qù wài miàn dǎ yìn.
The printer is broken, so I need to go outside to print.

Characters

Measure words

份fèn打印三份
张zhāng打印两张

Common collocations

打印出来
dǎ yìn chū lái
to print out
打印文件
dǎ yìn wén jiàn
to print documents
打印一份
dǎ yìn yī fèn
to print a copy
彩色打印
cǎi sè dǎ yìn
color printing

Antonyms

删除shān chúto delete

Origin

打 originally meant 'to strike' and is used in many verb compounds to mean 'to do/make.' 印 comes from traditional seal-stamping practices. Together they create a modern calque that metaphorically extends the 'striking' action to mechanical printing.