HSK 6 · Adjectives

正当 zhèngdàng “proper” in Chinese

Traditional 正當

What 正当 means

  1. proper
  2. legitimate
  3. justified
  4. honest
  5. reasonable
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • fair
  • sensible

How to say 正当

  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale正zhèng4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale当dàng4th tone, falling

正当 in a sentence

  1. 为了正当目的可以不择手段。

    Wèile zhèngdàng mùdì kěyǐ bùzéshǒuduàn.

    The end justifies the means.

    Sentence #806215 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters

How 正当 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 正 (zhèng) with each of its parts in a different colour
正zhèngstraight
  • 一one · yī
  • 止stop · zhǐ

Memory aidPicture a foot 止 heading straight for a line 一: straight, correct.

The character 当 (dāng) with each of its parts in a different colour
当dàngat or in the very same…
  • ⺌small form of 小 · xiǎo
  • 彐snout · jì

How to write 正当

正 5 strokes · 当 6 strokes

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

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

Words related to 正当

Words with 正

正在zhèngzài · in the process of正常zhèngcháng · regular正确zhèngquè · correct正式zhèngshì · formal真正zhēnzhèng · genuine正好zhènghǎo · just (in time)正zhèng · just (in the middle of doing something)改正gǎizhèng · to correct反正fǎnzhèng · anyway正月zhēngyuè · first month of the lunar year

Words with 当

当然dāngrán · of course当dāng · to act as当时dāngshí · then当地dāngdì · local当心dāngxīn · to be careful上当shàngdàng · to be fooled相当xiāngdāng · equivalent to当场dāngchǎng · on the spot当初dāngchū · originally当代dāngdài · contemporary

More words: Adjectives

崭新zhǎnxīn · brand-new朝气蓬勃zhāoqìpéngbó · full of vigour扎实zhāshi · solid镇定zhèndìng · calm正规zhèngguī · formal正经zhèngjing · serious珍贵zhēnguì · precious郑重zhèngzhòng · serious

FAQs

正当 (zhèngdàng) means “proper” or “legitimate”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it zhèngdàng: zhèng with a 4th tone, then dàng 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, 正当 is written 正當. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type zhengdang with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 正当 from the suggestions. Typing zhengdang into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
正当 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.