(dài) - to stay, to remain; to treat in Mandarin
dàiTraditional: 待
Translation
to stay, to remain; to treat
Word origin
待 is a phono-semantic compound: 彳 (the step radical) gives a sense of action or movement and 寺 (sì) supplies the sound. It means 'to wait, to stay' and 'to treat, to deal with'.
- Origin
- phono-semantic compound
- Root
- 彳 (chì, step radical) + 寺 (sì, phonetic)
Stroke order
待
Examples
。
I stayed here for three years.
？
How long do you plan to stay here?
，。
He is kind to friends and treats people very warmly.
。
I want to stay at home for a few days.
。
He treats people very politely.
待 (dài) has two main meanings. As to stay or remain, it describes spending time at a place (在北京待三年, stay in Beijing for three years). As to treat or to deal with, it appears in 待人 (treat people) and compounds like 对待 (duì dài, to treat or handle). Note that 待 can also be read as dāi (to stay, informal and more colloquial), which overlaps with 呆 (dāi). Context and formality distinguish them.
Where this fits
Appears in 2 words
Multi-character compounds in the corpus that contain 待.
Used in
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待: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "待" (to stay, to remain; to treat): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 11.