大都
dàdōu · HSK 5
for the most part
🏙️ 大 (big) + 都 (capital/all) = 'big-all' → mostly, for the most part
大 means big and 都 means 'all' or 'capital city'. Together the compound means 'in the big-all', i.e. the bulk of cases — mostly, for the most part. The 都 here carries its 'all/entirely' reading, not 'capital'.
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.
都 — 者 (phonetic) + 邑/阝 (city radical)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The right-side 阝 (a reduced form of 邑 'city, settlement') gives the meaning, while 者 supplies the sound. Originally it referred to a capital or major city, and later extended to mean 'all' or 'even' when read dōu.