档 dàng shelve
shelve; frame; files; records; grade
How to remember 档: 木 tree + 当 act as = shelve. Dad saws the fallen tree into planks and says one of them will act as a proper wooden shelve.
Component breakdown
档 = 木 tree + 当 act as
- 木 tree
- 当 act as
- ⺌ small
- 𫜹 snout
Dad saws the fallen tree into planks and says one of them will act as a proper wooden shelve.
How it is used
- Bound morpheme covering both "file/record" and "grade/tier" senses.
- 档案 dàng'àn is a formal dossier or archival file (personnel file, historical archive), more official than the general word 文件 wénjiàn "document".
- 高档 gāodàng "high-end/upscale" and 档次 dàngcì "grade/tier (of quality)" are common in describing products, restaurants, or brands.
- 搭档 dādàng means "partner" (noun) or "to team up" (verb) - 我们是老搭档 wǒmen shì lǎo dādàng, "we're longtime partners", unrelated to the file/grade senses above.