HSK 6 · Verbs

发动 fādòng “to start” in Chinese

Traditional 發動

What 发动 means

  1. to start
  2. to launch
  3. to mobilise
  4. to unleash
  5. to arouse

How to say 发动

  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale发fā1st tone, high and level
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale动dòng4th tone, falling

发动 in a sentence

  1. 他们没法发动他们的车。

    Tāmen méifǎ fādòng tāmen de chē.

    They couldn’t get their car started.

    Sentence #10537173 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 车发动不了因为电池没电了。

    Chē fādòng bu liǎo yīnwèi diànchí méi diàn le.

    The car won’t start because the battery is flat.

    Sentence #1516208 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 请把发动机关掉。

    Qǐng bǎ fādòngjī guāndiào.

    Please turn off the engine.

    Sentence #957633 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 发动 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 发 (fā) drawn as one shape
发fāto send out

发 is a single shape of 5 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

The character 动 (dòng) with each of its parts in a different colour
动dòngto move
  • 云cloud · yún
  • 力strength · lìMeaning part

Memory aidStrength 力 makes things move. In the full form 動, 重 (zhòng) gave the sound.

How to write 发动

发 5 strokes · 动 6 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

发动 (fādòng) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 发动 (fādòng). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 发动

Words with 发

发fā · send out发烧fāshāo · have a fever头发tóufa · hair on the head发现fāxiàn · discover发生fāshēng · to happen发展fāzhǎn · development理发lǐfà · to get a haircut出发chūfā · to set off沙发shāfā · sofa发言fāyán · to make a speech

Words with 动

动dòng · to move运动yùndòng · to exercise动物dòngwù · animal动物园dòngwùyuán · zoo运动员yùndòngyuán · athlete运动会yùndònghuì · sports meet活动huódòng · activity感动gǎndòng · to be moved激动jīdòng · excited动作dòngzuò · movement

More words: Common Verbs

堕落duòluò · to degenerate堵塞dǔsè · to block恶化èhuà · to worsen遏制èzhì · to curb放大fàngdà · to enlarge访问fǎngwèn · to visit防止fángzhǐ · to prevent反抗fǎnkàng · to resist

FAQs

发动 (fādòng) means “to start” or “to launch”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it fādòng: fā with a 1st tone, then dòng with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 发动 is written 發動. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type fadong with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 发动 from the suggestions. Typing fadong into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
发动 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.