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当 — dong; ding dong

Pinyin
dāng · dàng
Strokes
6
HSK level
HSK 3
Handwriting
required

This character has more than one reading — dāng, dàng — and the pronunciation depends on the word it appears in. The list below gives the syllabus reading for each word.

How to write 当: 6 strokes

Each cell adds one stroke to the previous ones, with the new stroke in red. Stroke order is not decoration: it sets the proportions of the character and makes handwriting legible to a reader. This character is on the HSK handwriting list, so the exam expects you to write it, not only recognise it.

当 — 6 strokes, in writing order from left to right.

Build a printable practice sheet with 当

Words with 当 in the HSK syllabus: 42

Every word in the official 2026 syllabus that contains this character, with the level it is introduced at. Learning a character pays off through these: each one combines with the characters you already know.

  1. 当然dāngránonly natural; as it should be; certainly; of courseHSK 3
  2. 当dāngat or in the very same...; suitable; adequateHSK 4
  3. 当时dāngshíthen; at that timeHSK 4
  4. 当地dāngdìlocalHSK 5
  5. 当年dāngniánin those days; back then; in those yearsHSK 5
  6. 当前dāngqiánthe present time; to be faced withHSK 5
  7. 当中dāngzhōngamong; in the middle; in the centerHSK 5
  8. 当dàngat or in the very same...; suitable; adequateHSK 5
  9. 当成dàngchéngto consider as; to take to beHSK 5
  10. 当作dàngzuòto treat as; to regard asHSK 5
  11. 适当shìdàngsuitable; appropriateHSK 5
  12. 相当xiāngdāngequivalent to; appropriate; considerablyHSK 5
  13. 应当yīngdāngshould; ought toHSK 5
  14. 当场dāngchǎngat the scene; on the spotHSK 6
  15. 当初dāngchūat that time; originallyHSK 6
  16. 当代dāngdàithe present age; the contemporary eraHSK 6
  17. 当今dāngjīnthe present time; His MajestyHSK 6
  18. 当面dāngmiànto sb's face; in sb's presenceHSK 6
  19. 当下dāngxiàimmediately; at once; at that moment; at the momentHSK 6
  20. 当选dāngxuǎnto be elected; to be selectedHSK 6
  21. 当天dàngtiānthe same dayHSK 6
  22. 恰当qiàdàngappropriate; suitableHSK 6
  23. 上当shàngdàngtaken in; to be fooled; to be dupedHSK 6
  24. 不当búdàngunsuitable; improper; inappropriateHSK 7–9
  25. 不敢当bùgǎndānglit. I dare not; fig. I don't deserve your praiseHSK 7–9
  26. 充当chōngdāngto serve as; to act as; to play the role ofHSK 7–9
  27. 担当dāndāngto take upon oneself; to assumeHSK 7–9
  28. 当即dāngjíat once; on the spotHSK 7–9
  29. 当机立断dāngjī-lìduànto make prompt decisionsHSK 7–9
  30. 当日dāngrìon that dayHSK 7–9
  31. 当事人dāngshìrénpersons involved or implicated; partyHSK 7–9
  32. 当务之急dāngwùzhījítop priority job; a matter of the greatest urgencyHSK 7–9
  33. 当心dāngxīnto take care; to look outHSK 7–9
  34. 当之无愧dāngzhīwúkuìfully deserving, without any reservations; entirely worthyHSK 7–9
  35. 当众dāngzhòngin public; in front of everybodyHSK 7–9
  36. 当晚dàngwǎnthe same eveningHSK 7–9
  37. 当真dàngzhēnto take seriously; serious; No joking, really!HSK 7–9
  38. 得当dédàngappropriate; suitableHSK 7–9
  39. 理所当然lǐsuǒdāngránas it should be by rights; proper and to be expected as a matter of courseHSK 7–9
  40. 势不可当shìbùkědāngimpossible to resist; an irresistible forceHSK 7–9

And 2 more across the higher levels — the full lists are on the level pages.

Glosses come from CC-CEDICT, used under CC BY-SA 4.0, and are the dictionary’s first sense rather than a translation chosen for context.