Meaning of 相当
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- equivalent to
- appropriate
- considerably
- to a certain extent
- fairly
- quite
How to use 相当
As an adverb, 相当 means "quite" or "fairly" and goes before adjectives, often sounding a bit more formal than 很 (hěn). As a verb, it means "to be equivalent to," often in the pattern 相当于 (xiāngdāng yú). Example: 这个问题相当难。(Zhège wèntí xiāngdāng nán.) This problem is quite difficult.
相 (xiāng) means "mutual" or "each other" and 当 (dāng) means "to match" or "to be equal to." Two things that match each other are equivalent, and something that matches a high standard is "quite" good.
Common mistake: Learners often read 相 as xiàng, the tone used in 相机 (xiàngjī) and 照相 (zhàoxiàng), but in 相当 it is first tone, xiāng. Also, 当 here is first tone dāng, not the fourth tone dàng used in words like 上当 (shàngdàng).
相当 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.
相 xiāng · mutual · 9 strokes
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当 dāng · to be · 6 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 相当.
| 相信 | xiāngxìn | to believe; to be convinced; to accept as true |
| 当时 | dāngshí | then; at that time |
| 相同 | xiāngtóng | identical; same |
| 相机 | xiàngjī | camera (abbr. for 照相機|照相机[zhao4 xiang4 ji1]); at the opportune moment |
| 照相 | zhàoxiàng | to take a photograph |
| 当然 | dāngrán | only natural; as it should be |
| 互相 | hùxiāng | each other; mutually |
| 当中 | dāngzhōng | among; in the middle |
| 当地 | dāngdì | local |
| 当初 | dāngchū | at that time; originally |
| 相关 | xiāngguān | related; relevant |
| 相互 | xiānghù | each other; mutual |
Questions about 相当
What does 相当 mean?
相当 (xiāngdāng) means "equivalent to; appropriate" and is used as a adverb and verb.
How do you write 相当?
相当 is made of 2 characters: 相 (9 strokes), 当 (6 strokes). That is 15 strokes in total.
Is 相当 an HSK word?
Yes. 相当 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 相当 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 相当 is written 相當.
What is the difference between 相当 and 相当于?
相当 alone usually works as an adverb meaning "quite," as in 相当好 (quite good). 相当于 means "is equivalent to" and is followed by a noun or amount, as in 一美元相当于七块钱 (one dollar is equal to about seven yuan).
Is 相当 stronger than 很 or 非常?
相当 is usually a little stronger than 很 (hěn) but a little weaker than 非常 (fēicháng). It also feels more measured and is common in both writing and careful speech.