Meaning of 等于
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to equal
- to be tantamount to
How to use 等于
等于 is used for math equations and also in everyday speech to say one thing amounts to another. Example: 一加一等于二。(Yī jiā yī děngyú èr.) One plus one equals two. You can also say 你不说话就等于同意了 (nǐ bù shuōhuà jiù děngyú tóngyì le), meaning "not speaking is the same as agreeing."
等 (děng) means to wait, but also rank or grade, as in 平等 (píngděng) equal, and 于 (yú) works like "to" or "at." Put them together and you get "equal to," just like the = sign in a math problem.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes mix up 等于 (děngyú) with 等到 (děngdào). 等到 means "to wait until," not "to equal." Also, 于 is often pronounced in a light tone in fast speech, but in careful speech it is second tone, yú.
等于 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.
等 děng · to wait for · 12 strokes
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于 yú · to go · 3 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 等于.
| 等到 | děngdào | to wait until; by the time when (sth is ready etc) |
| 平等 | píngděng | equal; equality |
| 终于 | zhōngyú | at last; in the end |
| 等待 | děngdài | to wait; to wait for |
| 属于 | shǔyú | to belong to; to fall under (a category) |
| 由于 | yóuyú | due to; as a result of |
| 关于 | guānyú | pertaining to; concerning |
| 对于 | duìyú | regarding; as far as (sth) is concerned; with regard to |
| 于是 | yúshì | thereupon; as a result; consequently; thus; hence |
| 处于 | chǔyú | to be in (some state, position, or condition) |
| 在于 | zàiyú | to rest with; to lie in; to be due to (a certain attribute); (of a matter) to be determine |
| 位于 | wèiyú | to be located at; to be situated at |
Questions about 等于
What does 等于 mean?
等于 (děngyú) means "to equal; to be tantamount to" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 等于?
等于 is made of 2 characters: 等 (12 strokes), 于 (3 strokes). That is 15 strokes in total.
Is 等于 an HSK word?
Yes. 等于 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 等于 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 等于 is written 等於.
How do you say "not equal to" in Chinese?
Put 不 in front: 不等于 (bù děngyú). For example, 有钱不等于幸福 (yǒu qián bù děngyú xìngfú) means "having money does not equal happiness."
What is the difference between 等于 and 相等?
等于 takes an object directly, as in A 等于 B. 相等 (xiāngděng) describes two things being equal to each other and usually has no object, as in 这两个数相等 (zhè liǎng gè shù xiāngděng), "these two numbers are equal."