Chinese Pictographic Character大

The pictogram of 大, meaning ‘big’ or ‘large’, looks like a front view of a person standing with his arms stretched and legs open to convey the meaning ‘big’. The word can be used both on its own and as a component in word-formation.

The word 大 can mean ‘seniority in age’, for example 大哥 (dà gē,’eldest brother’). It is often used to emphasize the importance or seriousness of something, for example大考 (dà kǎo, ‘final exam’) and 大扫除 (dà sǎo chú, ‘major spring cleaning’).

When used as a component in word formation. 大 may appear in different positions, for example天 (tiān, ‘sky’), 太 (tài, ‘very’ or ’extremely’)，头 (tóu,’head’) ，尖 (jiān,’pointed’) and 夺 (duó, ‘snatch’).

大 is the opposite of 小 (xiǎo, ‘small’). It conveys great significance and is generally valued. For many, the dream is to live in a big house 住大房子 (zhù dà fang zi) and travel in a big car 坐大汽车 (zuò dà qì chē).

Idioms and phrases
大材小用 dàcái-xiǎoyòng
Not putting talents to good use; not doing justice to someone’s talent
大吃大喝 dàchī-dàhē
To eat and drink excessively
大吃一惊 dàchī-yìjīng
To be taken aback
大胆 dàdǎn
daring
大发雷霆 dàfā-léitíng
To hit the roof
大方 dàfāng
generous
大概 dàgài
Generally; about; roughly
大海捞针 dàhǎi-lāozhēn
Looking for a needle in a haystack
大吉大利 dàjí-dàlì
Wishing someone good fortune and luck
大名鼎鼎 dàmíng-dǐngdǐng
(of people) well-known
大意 dàyì
careless