How to say “play” in Chinese
play (ball games); hit
“Play” in Chinese is 打, dǎ: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
打 is read dǎ. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
On the left, 扌 “hand”.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “打”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 打. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 我晚上给你打电话。wǒwǎnshanggěinǐdǎdiànhuàI’ll call you this evening.
- 他正在打电话tāzhèngzàidǎdiànhuàHe’s on the phone right now.
- 我是打车来的wǒshìdǎchēláideI came by taxi.
- 你会打篮球吗nǐhuìdǎlánqiúmaCan you play basketball?
- 请把灯打开qǐngbǎdēngdǎkāiPlease turn on the light.
- 他把房间打扫干净了tābǎfángjiāndǎsǎogānjìngleHe cleaned the room until it was spotless.
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “Ball games”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “play” in Chinese?
“Play” in Chinese is 打, pinyin dǎ.
What does 打 mean?
打 (dǎ) means “play (ball games); hit”.
How do you write 打?
打 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 打?
打 is read dǎ. Tones: dǎ — third tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“play” in the lesson “Ball games”
This word is from the topic “Leisure and health” of HSK 2. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
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