动弹
dòng tan · HSK 7
to budge
🪨 dong tan = move + bounce — even a boulder won't budge
动 means move, 弹 means bounce or spring. Together they describe the minimal act of budging. If something won't dong-tan, not even a bounce can shift it.
动 — force 力 + heavy/重 (simplified from 動)
The traditional form 動 combines 重 (heavy) as the phonetic with 力 (force/strength) as the semantic, suggesting the effort needed to move something heavy. The simplified form 动 replaces 重 with 云, keeping 力 to convey action and motion.
弹 — bow 弓 + single 单 (phonetic)
Originally a pictograph of a bow with a pellet ready to launch, 弹 depicted a slingshot or pellet bow. The form was later regularized as a phono-semantic compound: 弓 (bow) gives the meaning of shooting or springing, while 单 supplies the sound. Modern senses—bullet, to pluck, to spring—all extend from this shooting/elastic-release idea.