大

大 U+5927, 大 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5927 ← 夦 [U+5926] CJK Unified Ideographs 夨 → [U+5928]

⼤ U+2F24, ⼤ KANGXI RADICAL BIG ← ⼣ [U+2F23] Kangxi Radicals ⼥ → [U+2F25]

Stroke order

Stroke order

大 (Kangxi radical 37, 大+0, 3 strokes, cangjie input 大 (K), four-corner 4003₀ or 4080₀, composition ⿻一人 or ⿸𠂇㇏)

1. Kangxi radical #37, ⼤.

• Appendix:Chinese radical/大
• 达, 庆 (Simplified from 達, 慶)
• 㐲, 𫥰, 𠯈, 𡉑, 𡚻, 𢁖, 𫸥, 㣕, 忕, 𢪂, 汏, 𫔺, 𫻨, 𭥏, 杕, 𣧂, 𬌚, 𪼳, 𭾚, 𮀋, 𥝛, 𮕨, 𬚓, 𦨐, 𮗹, 軑(轪), 釱, 𭖯, 𮌙, 馱(驮), 䲦, 𬵃(𬶃), 𪐝, 𠏥, 𠧭, 䲪
• 犬, 矢, 㕦, 尖, 𢎴, 芖, 𠛇, 戻, 旲, 𬋻, 㺯, 𡭟, 𥝚, 𥤮, 𦉼, 𬺛, 𡧠, 类, 美, 耎, 𦤀, 𬟧, 䙲, 𠧵, 𩵋, 𡟗, 𦳣, 䯨, 𥈀, 𮮰, 𪉗, 𥮯, 𣊖, 樊, 𫂎, 𩃙, 𤳦, 𤾪, 𪚔, 𧹈
• 冭, 厺, 圶, 㞭, 𪩣, 𪵪, 𤆍, 𬉵, 𤯗, 𭀢, 㭐, 羍, 𦏷, 耷, 𧈹, 牵, 𧥢, 𩇩, 𣫵, 𥆗, 𩡱, 𩾪, 𪐡, 𬹞, 𡗜, 爽, 㻎, 𥇛, 𠾖, 𨳓, 因, 輋(𪨶)

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 248, character 1
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 5831
• Dae Jaweon: page 492, character 25
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 520, character 1
• Unihan data for U+5927

simp. and trad.		大
alternative forms		亣 ancient 𠘲

Ideogram (指事) : a person 人 with arms stretched out as far as possible, implying the meaning of big/great/large.

Compare with 尢, which is a man with bent legs. Compare also 立, similar to 大, and 交, in which the legs are crossed. Compare also 文, which is a man with arms outstretched and a crest or tattoo on his chest, and to 夭, which is a man with arms outstretched and leaning to side (running or marching vigorously).

See the top component of 泰 in the original version (𡙌), the top component of 赤 and the bottom component of 奐 (well visible in some fonts). Related to 太.

Unrelated to 买, in which the bottom component is the stylization of a cowrie.

Cognate with 太 (OC *tʰaːds, “too, excessively”), 泰 (OC *tʰaːds, “big”). Wang (1982) also lists 誕 (OC *l'aːnʔ, “big, magniloquent, ridiculous”) as a cognate, which Schuessler (2007) suggests is cognate with 延 (OC *lan, *lans, “to extend”) instead. There are no unambiguous Tibeto-Burman cognates. Proto-Tibeto-Burman *taj (“big”), from which came Written Tibetan མཐེ་བོ (mthe bo, “thumb”), Anong tʰɛ (“big, large, great”), Mikir tʰè, ketʰè (“big, large, great”), Burmese တယ် (tai, “very”), is often compared with. There is no final –s in the Tibeto-Burman words, but a –y, which, according to James Matisoff, “indicates emergent quality in stative verbs”. Also compare Chinese 多 (OC *ʔl'aːl, “many, much”), 都 (OC *taː, “all”).

大

1. of great size; big; large; huge

   Antonym: 小 (xiǎo)

   這個太大了！／这个太大了！  ―  Zhè ge tài dà le!  ―  This is too big!

   呢條褲好大條。 [Cantonese, trad.]
   呢条裤好大条。 [Cantonese, simp.]

   ni¹ tiu⁴ fu³ hou² daai⁶ tiu⁴. [Jyutping]

   This pair of pants is very big.

2. big; great

   中美關係已有很大改善。 [MSC, trad.]
   中美关系已有很大改善。 [MSC, simp.]

   Zhōng Měi guānxì yǐ yǒu hěn dà gǎishàn. [Pinyin]

   Relations between China and America have improved greatly.

   大不列顛／大不列颠  ―  Dàbùlièdiān  ―  Great Britain

3. great of its kind

   昨天下大雨。  ―  Zuótiān xià dàyǔ.  ―  There was heavy rain yesterday.

   好大𠹻味 [Cantonese]  ―  hou² daai⁶ zam⁶ mei⁶ [Jyutping]  ―  a very strong smell

4. in an extreme manner; greatly

   大哭  ―  dà kū  ―  to cry violently

   大吃一驚／大吃一惊  ―  dàchīyījīng  ―  to be greatly shocked

   大不相同  ―  dà bù xiàngtóng  ―  to be greatly different

   你遇到這種情況，大可以走人哪。 [MSC, trad.]
   你遇到这种情况，大可以走人哪。 [MSC, simp.]

   Nǐ yùdào zhè zhǒng qíngkuàng, dà kěyǐ zǒurén na. [Pinyin]

   If you come across this kind of situation, you absolutely can leave.

   你可不知道，他昨兒過來大折騰了一場。好家伙，差點兒沒把這兒拆嘍！ [dialectal Mandarin, trad.]
   你可不知道，他昨儿过来大折腾了一场。好家伙，差点儿没把这儿拆喽！ [dialectal Mandarin, simp.]

   Nǐ kě bù zhīdào, tā zuór guòlai dà zhēteng le yī chǎng. Hǎojiāhuo, chàdiǎnr méi bǎ zhèr chāi lou! [Pinyin]

   You don't even know, yesterday he came over and wildly stirred up trouble. Oh my God, he almost tore this place apart!

5. main; major

   Antonym: 小 (xiǎo)

   他們將車一直開到大門口。 [MSC, trad.]
   他们将车一直开到大门口。 [MSC, simp.]

   Tāmen jiāng chē yīzhí kāi dào dà ménkǒu. [Pinyin]

   They drove right up to the main gate.

   他是一家石油公司的大股東。 [MSC, trad.]
   他是一家石油公司的大股东。 [MSC, simp.]

   Tā shì yījiā shíyóu gōngsī de dà gǔdōng. [Pinyin]

   He is a major stockholder in an oil company.

6. well-known; successful (only applied to some occupations)

   大書法家／大书法家  ―  dà shūfǎjiā  ―  a well-known calligrapher

7. mature; grown up

   See also: 老

   Antonym: 小 (xiǎo)

   你多大了？  ―  Nǐ duō dà le?  ―  How old are you?

   她比他大。  ―  Tā bǐ tā dà.  ―  She is older than him.

   你隻狗係咁大㗎喇。 [Cantonese, trad.]
   你只狗系咁大㗎喇。 [Cantonese, simp.]

   nei⁵ zek³ gau² hai⁶ gam³ daai^6-2 gaa³ laa³. [Jyutping]

   Your dog isn't going to grow any older.

8. (of a place) greater (together with the surrounding area pertaining to it)

   大北京地區／大北京地区  ―  Dà Běijīng Dìqū  ―  Greater Beijing Area

9. (Cantonese) to grow up

   喺廣州大／喺广州大 [Cantonese]  ―  hai² gwong² zau¹ daai⁶ [Jyutping]  ―  to grow up in Guangzhou

10. (Cantonese) to be older than

    Antonym: 細／细 (xì)

    我大佢兩年。 [Cantonese, trad.]
    我大佢两年。 [Cantonese, simp.]

    ngo⁵ daai⁶ keoi⁵ loeng⁵ nin⁴. [Jyutping]

    I am older than them by two years.

11. (dialectal) father
12. (dialectal) father's elder or younger brother
13. (Cantonese, slang) to intimidate; to threaten

    你大我呀？ [Cantonese]  ―  nei⁵ daai⁶ ngo⁵ aa⁴? [Jyutping]  ―  Are you trying to intimidate me?

    你咪大我。 [Cantonese]  ―  nei⁵ mai⁵ daai⁶ ngo⁵. [Jyutping]  ―  Don't you threaten me.

14. (Cantonese) only so big

    咁高咁大 [Cantonese]  ―  gam³ gou¹ gam³ daai^6-2 [Jyutping]  ―  (please add an English translation of this usage example)

15. (Cantonese, euphemistic) number two

    我好急呀，要去大。 [Cantonese, trad. and simp.]

    ngo⁵ hou² gap¹ aa³, jiu³ heoi³ daai⁶. [Jyutping]

    I'm very desperate and need to go number two.

16. Short for 大學／大学 (dàxué, “university”). Used only in the abbreviation of the name.

    北大  ―  Běidà  ―  Peking University

17. 45th tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "greatness" (𝌲)
18. a surname

Others:

• → Thai: ไท้ (tái)
• → Old Turkic: 𐱃𐰖 (tay)

大

1. Used in 大夫 (dàifu, “doctor”).
2. Used in 大王 (dàiwáng, “(in operas, old novels, etc.) king; ringleader”).
3. Used in 大黃／大黄 (dàihuáng, “rhubarb”).
4. Used in 大城 (Dàichéng, “Daicheng, Hebei”).
5. Alternative form of 待 (“to be about to; to intend to”)
6. Alternative form of 代 (dài, “dynasty”)

大

1. (Cantonese) small

   咁大 [Cantonese]  ―  gam³ daai^6-1 [Jyutping]  ―  so puny

For pronunciation and definitions of 大 – see 太 (“too; so; etc.”). (This character is an ancient form of 太).

For pronunciation and definitions of 大 – see 泰 (“big; large; great; extensive; etc.”). (This character is an ancient form of 泰).

• “大”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[1], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–
• Dictionary of Chinese Character Variants (教育部異體字字典), A00848

(First grade kyōiku kanji)

• Go-on: だ (da)、だい (dai, Jōyō)
• Kan-on: た (ta)、たい (tai, Jōyō)
• Kun: おお (ō, 大, Jōyō)^{←おほ (ofo, 大, historical)}、おおきい (ōkii, 大きい, Jōyō)^{←おほきい (ofokii, 大きい, historical)}、おおいに (ōini, 大いに, Jōyō)^{←おほいに (ofoini, 大いに, historical)}
• Nanori: うふ (ufu)、お (o)、た (ta)、たかし (takashi)、とも (tomo)、はじめ (hajime)、ひろ (hiro)、ひろし (hiroshi)、ふとし (futoshi)、まさ (masa)、まさる (masaru)、もと (moto)、ゆたか (yutaka)、わ (wa)

Kanji in this term
大
だい Grade: 1
goon

Alternative spelling
die

From Middle Chinese 大 (MC dajH).

• (Tokyo) だい [dáꜜì] (Atamadaka – [1])^[1][2]
• IPA^(key): [da̠i]

大(だい) • (dai-) 

1. big, large

   大(だい)ピンチ

   dai-pinchi

   tremendous crisis

   大(だい)ヒットする

   dai-hitto suru

   to become a smash hit

2. the large part of
3. (religion) arch-

大(だい) • (-dai) 

1. Abbreviation of 大学 (daigaku, “university”).

   東(とう)大(だい) ― Tōdai ― Tokyo Univ.

   阪(はん)大(だい) ― Handai ― Osaka Univ.

   北(ほく)大(だい) ― Hokudai ― Hokkaido Univ.

   北(ほく)陸(りく)大(だい) ― Hokurikudai ― Hokuriku Univ.

This is often the second half of the two-character shorthand name of universities, for example 東大 (Tōdai, “Tokyo University”). Reading of first character often changes from kun'yomi to on'yomi.

Kanji in this term
大
おお Grade: 1
kun'yomi

/opo/ → /ofo/ → /owo/ → /oː/

From Old Japanese 大 (opo), from Proto-Japonic *əpə.

大(おお) • (ō-) ^{←おほ (ofo-)?}

1. big; great

   大(おお)馬鹿(ばか)な

   ō-baka na

   extremely foolish

• 御(お) (o-), 御(おん) (on-)
• 多(おお)い (ōi, “many, a large number of”)

From Middle Chinese 大 (MC dajH).

Historical Readings
Dongguk Jeongun Reading
Dongguk Jeongun, 1448	땡〮 (Yale: ttáy)
Middle Korean
Text	Eumhun
	Gloss (hun)	Reading
Sinjeung Yuhap, 1576	크다 (Yale: khuta)	대 (Yale: tay)

• (in 大口, 大邱, 大斗, 大文, and 大田):
  • (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [tɛ] ~ [te̞]
  • Phonetic hangul: [대/데]
• (big; main; etc.):
  • (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [tɛ(ː)] ~ [te̞(ː)]
  • Phonetic hangul: [대(ː)/데(ː)]
    • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Wikisource

大 (eumhun 큰 대 (keun dae))

1. hanja form^? of 대 (“large; big”) [noun]
2. hanja form^? of 대 (“big, great; main, major”) [affix]

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [2]

(First grade kyōiku kanji)

• On (unclassified): でー (dē)、てー (tē)
• Kun: うふ (ufu, 大)、うー (ū, 大)

• IPA^(key): /deː/

大(でー) (dē-) 

1. big, large

From Proto-Ryukyuan *opo, from Proto-Japonic *əpə.

• IPA^(key): /ʔuɸu/

大(うふ) (ufu-) 

1. big; great
2. greater

• 大人(うふっちゅ) (ufutchu, “adult”)
• 大(うふ)大和(やまとぅ) (Ufuyamatu, “Japan”)

• 多(うふ)さん (ufusan, “many, a large number of”)

大: Hán Việt readings: đại (度(đạc)柰(nại)切(thiết))^[1][2][3]
大: Nôm readings: đại^[1][2][3][4], đài^[1][2], dãy^[3][5], dảy^[3], đẫy^[3]

1. Chữ Hán form of đại (“big; great”).