British embassy?
dàshì 大事 N matter of importance
dàsì 大肆 ADV wantonly, without restraint
dàtǐ 大体 N on the whole, in the main 大体来说 dàtǐ láishuō on the whole
dàxiàng 大象 N elephant (头 tóu) ■ 小孩子都喜欢 大象。Xiǎoháizi dōu xǐhuan dàxiàng. Children are
all fond of elephants.
dàxiǎo 大小 [comp: 大 big + 小 small] N size ■ 你知道那间房间的大小吗？Nǐ zhīdào nà jiān
fángjiān de dàxiǎo ma? Do you know the size of the room?
Note: 大 dà and 小 xiǎo are opposites. Put together, 大小 dàxiǎo means size. There are other Chinese nouns
made up of antonyms, e.g. 高矮 gāo’ǎi height, 长短 chángduǎn length, 好坏 hǎohuài quality.dàxíng 大型 [modif: 大 big + 型 model] ADJ large-scale, large-sized ■ 今年十月这个城市要 举行一个
大型汽车展览会。Jīnnián Shíyuè zhège chéngshì yào jǔxíng yí ge dàxíng qìchē zhǎnlǎnhuì. In
October this year a large-scale auto show will be held in this city.
dàxué 大学 [modif: 大 big + 学 school] N university (座 zuò, 所 suǒ) ■ 这座大学很有名。Zhè zuò
dàxué hěn yǒumíng. This university is well known. ■ 你们国家有多少所大学？ Nǐmen guójiā yǒu
duōshǎo suǒ dàxué? How many universities are there in your country? 考大学 kǎo dàxué sit for the
university entrance examination / 考上大学 kǎo shàng dàxué pass the university entrance examination / 上
大学 shàng dàxué go to university, study in a university
dàyángzhōu 大洋洲 [modif: 大 big + 洋 ocean + 洲 continent] N Oceania ■ 新西兰在大洋 洲。
Xīnxīlán zài Dàyángzhōu. New Zealand is in Oceania.
dàyī 大衣 [modif: 大 big + 衣 clothes, coat] N overcoat ■ 今天很冷，外出要穿大衣，戴帽子。
Jīntiān hěn lěng, wàichū yào chuān dàyī, dài màozi. It’s cold today. You need to wear an overcoat
and a hat when going out.
dàyì 大意 [modif: 大 major + 意 meaning] N rough idea, summary
dàyuē 大约 ADV approximately, about, nearly ■ 昨天下午大约四点钟有人给你打电话。Zuótiān xiàwǔ
dàyuē sì diǎnzhōng yǒu rén gěi nǐ dǎ diànhuà. Someone telephoned you at about four o’clock
yesterday afternoon.
dàzhì 大致 ADV roughly, generally
dāi 呆 I ADJ foolish, stupid ■ 她很呆，竟会相信 这个广告。Tā hěn dāi, jìng huì xiāngxìn zhège
guǎnggào. It is foolish of her to believe the commercial. II V same as 待 dāi
dāi 待 V stay ■ 我这次来只待两三天。Wǒ zhè cì lái zhǐ dāi liǎng-sān tiān. For this visit I’ll stay only
a couple of days.
dǎi 歹 ADJ bad, evil (ANTONYM 好 hǎo)
dǎitú 歹徒 [modif: 歹 bad + 徒 man] N bad guy, criminal
dàifu 大夫 N same as 医生 yīshēng, used more as a colloquialism. (位 wèi)
dài 代¹ V take the place of, perform on behalf of ■ 这件事你得亲自做，别人不能代你做。Zhè jiàn shì
nǐ děi qīnzì zuò, biérén bù néng dài nǐ zuò. You must do it by yourself; nobody can do it on your
behalf. 代课老师 dàikè lǎoshī substitute teacher / 代校长 / 代部长 dài xiàozhǎng / dài bùzhǎng acting principal
/ acting minister
dài 代² N 1 generation ■ 李家在这个村子里住了 好几代了。Lǐ jiā zài zhège cūnzi li zhùle hǎo jǐ dài
le. The Lis have been living in this village for generations. 2 dynasty ■ 唐代中国是当时世界上 最
强大的国家。Táng dài Zhōngguó shì dāngshí shìjiè shang zuì qiángdà de guójiā. China in the
Tang Dynasty was the most powerful country in the world at that time.
NOTE: The major Chinese dynasties are 秦 Qín, 汉 Hàn, 唐 Táng, 宋 Sòng, 元 Yuán, 明 Míng, 清 Qīng.
dàibiǎo 代表 [comp: 代 substitute + 表 manifest] V & N represent, indicate; representative ■ 这只是 他个
人的意见，不代表公司的立场。Zhè zhǐ shì tā gèrén de yìjiàn, bú dàibiǎo gōngsī de lìchǎng.
This is only his personal opinion, which does not represent the view of the company. ■ 谁是你们
的代表？Shuí shì nǐmen de dàibiǎo? Who is your representative?