大多
dà duō · HSK 4
most
🔢 大 (big) + 多 (many) = the big many = most
大多 literally stacks 大 'big' and 多 'many' to mean 'the great majority' or 'mostly'. Often appears in 大多数 (dàduōshù, 'the majority'). Think of it as 'big-many' = the bulk of a group.
大 — pictograph of a person with arms outstretched
大 is a pictograph showing a person standing with arms and legs spread wide. The outstretched arms suggest 'big' or 'great', extending from the literal image of a large stance to abstract meanings like important or grand. It is one of the oldest characters, found on oracle bones.
多 — two 夕 (evening) stacked
多 originally depicted two pieces of meat (夕, a variant of 肉) stacked together, suggesting abundance. Over time it was reanalyzed as two 'evenings' piled up — many evenings meaning many days, hence 'many, much'. The doubling itself conveys quantity.