Chinese–EnglishWith examples

发动

fā dòng · fa dong

Traditional 發動

HSK 3Old HSK 6

Meaning

CC-CEDICT
  1. to start
  2. to launch
  3. to unleash
  4. to mobilize
  5. to arouse
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In a conversation

0:17 cartoon

The car will not start

  1. Dengdeng

    车(chē)怎么(zěnme)发动(fādòng)不了(bùle)？

    Why will the car not start?

  2. Liangliang

    你(nǐ)先(xiān)看看(kànkan)有没有(yǒuméiyǒu)油(yóu)。

    First check whether there is gas.

  3. Dengdeng

    有(yǒu)，我(wǒ)刚(gāng)加了油(jiāleyóu)。

    There is. I just filled it up.

  4. Liangliang

    那(nà)你(nǐ)再(zài)发动(fādòng)一次(yīcì)。

    Then start it once more.

  5. Dengdeng

    好(hǎo)……发动(fādòng)了(le)！

    OK... it started!

  6. Liangliang

    刚才(gāngcái)你(nǐ)没(méi)踩(cǎi)刹车(shāchē)。

    Just now, you did not step on the brake.

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In a sentence

2 examples
01

车(chē)发(fā)动(dòng)不(bu)了(liǎo)因(yīn)为(wèi)电(diàn)池(chí)没(méi)电(diàn)了(le)。

The car won't start because the battery has run down.

Tatoeba: Chinese by gonnastop · English by darinmex · CC BY 2.0 FR. Pinyin added or corrected.

02

他(tā)们(men)发(fā)动(dòng)了(le)一(yì)场(chǎng)保(bǎo)护(hù)环(huán)境(jìng)的(de)运(yùn)动(dòng)。

They launched a campaign to protect the environment.

Sources & licenses

How to write

Choose a character to watch its strokes or trace it yourself.

Mainland China stroke order, including traditional characters. Drawing sources & licenses.

The characters

Explore individually
发
fā

to send out; to show (one's feeling)

动
dòng

(of sth) to move; to set in movement

Individual character meanings do not always explain the meaning of a whole word.

Definitions adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG and its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Pinyin display and entry grouping have been adapted.

More words starting with FExplore words in context