Meaning of 大多
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- for the most part
- many
- most
- the greater part
- mostly
How to use 大多
大多 is an adverb that goes before the verb or adjective, usually after the subject, to say that most members of a group share something. Example: 这里的学生大多是北京人。(Zhèlǐ de xuéshēng dàduō shì Běijīng rén.) Most of the students here are from Beijing.
大 (dà) means big and 多 (duō) means many, so 大多 is the big share of many things. Picture a crowd where the big part is doing the same thing: that is "mostly."
Common mistake: Learners often put 大多 directly before a noun, as in 大多学生, but as an adverb it should follow the subject: 学生大多… or use 大多数学生 instead. Also keep both tones falling then level, dà duō, not dá duō.
大多 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
大 dà · big · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
多 duō · many · 6 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
Related words
Words that share a character with 大多.
| 多少 | duōshao | number; amount; somewhat |
| 大学 | dàxué | university; college |
| 大学生 | dàxuéshēng | university student; college student |
| 不大 | bù dà | not very (clear, far away etc); not too; not often; infrequently |
| 大家 | dàjiā | everyone; influential family |
| 多久 | duōjiǔ | (of time) how long?; (not) a long time |
| 大人 | dàren | adult; grownup |
| 差不多 | chàbuduō | almost; nearly |
| 许多 | xǔduō | many; a lot of |
| 好多 | hǎoduō | many; quite a lot |
| 多么 | duōme | how (wonderful etc); what (a great idea etc) |
| 长大 | zhǎngdà | to grow up |
Questions about 大多
What does 大多 mean?
大多 (dàduō) means "for the most part; many" and is used as a adverb.
How do you write 大多?
大多 is made of 2 characters: 大 (3 strokes), 多 (6 strokes). That is 9 strokes in total.
Is 大多 an HSK word?
Yes. 大多 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 大多 and 大多数?
大多数 (dàduōshù) is a noun meaning the majority and can go before a noun, as in 大多数人 (most people). 大多 is an adverb and goes before the verb, as in 人大多同意 (people mostly agree).
Can 大多 be used for things that happen most of the time?
Yes, it can describe what is usually the case, such as 周末我大多在家 (zhōumò wǒ dàduō zài jiā), on weekends I am mostly at home. It sounds a bit more written than 一般 (yìbān) or 通常 (tōngcháng) in casual speech.