Meaning of 洞
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- cave
- hole
- zero (unambiguous spoken form when spelling out numbers)
Measure word: 個|个
- used in 洪洞[Hong2 tong2] (the name of a place in Shanxi)
How to use 洞
洞 (dòng) means a hole or a cave, and it appears in words like 山洞 (shāndòng) cave and 黑洞 (hēidòng) black hole. It also works as a measure word for caves and holes. Example: 我的袜子破了一个洞。(Wǒ de wàzi pò le yí ge dòng.) My sock has a hole in it.
洞 combines the water radical 氵 with 同 (tóng). Picture water flowing through rock until it carves out a hollow, and let 同 hint at the sound.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes read 洞 as tóng because of its sound part 同, or mix it up with 铜 (tóng, copper). In standard use it is dòng, and tóng only appears in the place name 洪洞 (Hóngtóng).
洞 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.
洞 dòng · cave · 9 strokes
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- 9
Related words
Words that share a character with 洞.
| 漏洞 | lòudòng | leak; hole |
| 洞穴 | dòngxué | cave; cavern |
| 黑洞 | hēidòng | (astronomy) black hole |
| 山洞 | shāndòng | cavern; cave |
| 空洞 | kōngdòng | cavity; empty |
| 洞察力 | dòngchálì | insight |
| 防空洞 | fángkōngdòng | air raid shelter; bomb shelter; (fig.) place that protects bad people; hideout |
| 洞口 | Dòngkǒu | cave mouth; tunnel entrance |
| 洞房 | dòngfáng | secret inner room; bridal room |
| 挖洞 | wādòng | to dig a hole |
| 洞察 | dòngchá | to see clearly |
| 地洞 | dìdòng | tunnel; cave; burrow; dugout |
Questions about 洞
What does 洞 mean?
洞 (dòng) means "cave; hole" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 洞?
洞 is made of 1 character: 洞 (9 strokes). That is 9 strokes in total.
Is 洞 an HSK word?
Yes. 洞 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why do people say 洞 for zero when reading numbers?
In radio, military, and other careful spoken contexts, 洞 (dòng) replaces 零 (líng) so zero is not misheard. For example, 110 can be read 幺幺洞 (yāo yāo dòng). In everyday speech people still mostly say 零.
Can 洞 be used in abstract meanings?
Yes. 漏洞 (lòudòng) means a loophole or flaw in a plan or system, and 空洞 (kōngdòng) can describe speech that is empty of content. 洞察力 (dòngchálì) means insight, the ability to see through things.