Meaning of 长大
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to grow up
How to use 长大
长大 describes a person, animal, or plant growing up over time. It often appears with 了 or in phrases like 长大以后 (after growing up). Example: 我长大以后想当医生。(Wǒ zhǎngdà yǐhòu xiǎng dāng yīshēng.) When I grow up, I want to be a doctor.
长 (zhǎng) means to grow and 大 (dà) means big. When you grow until you are big, you have grown up.
Common mistake: Learners often read 长 here as cháng (long). In 长大 it is always zhǎng, the same reading as in 队长 (duìzhǎng) captain.
长大 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.
长 cháng · long · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
大 dà · big · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
Related words
Words that share a character with 长大.
| 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 |
| 大人 | dàren | adult; grownup |
| 队长 | duìzhǎng | captain; team leader |
| 大部分 | dàbùfen | the greater part; the majority; most; Taiwan pr. [da4bu4fen4] |
| 大声 | dà shēng | loud voice; in a loud voice |
| 大量 | dàliàng | great amount; large quantity |
| 大多数 | dàduōshù | (great) majority |
| 市长 | shìzhǎng | mayor |
| 大海 | dàhǎi | sea; ocean |
Questions about 长大
What does 长大 mean?
长大 (zhǎngdà) means "to grow up".
How do you write 长大?
长大 is made of 2 characters: 长 (4 strokes), 大 (3 strokes). That is 7 strokes in total.
Is 长大 an HSK word?
Yes. 长大 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 长大 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 长大 is written 長大.
How do I say where someone grew up?
Use 在 + place + 长大. For example, 我在北京长大。(Wǒ zài Běijīng zhǎngdà.) means I grew up in Beijing.
Can 长大 be used for things other than people?
Yes. It works for animals and plants too, such as 小狗长大了 (xiǎo gǒu zhǎngdà le), the puppy has grown up. For abstract things like a company growing, Chinese usually uses other words such as 发展 (fāzhǎn).