当然
dāngrán · HSK 3
of course
✅ 当 (this/that) + 然 (so) = 'that being so' → of course
当 marks the state at hand; 然 means 'so, like that'. Together they assert the current case is self-evidently true, hence 'certainly, of course'. Compare 自然 (zìrán, natural) which uses 然 the same way.
当 — small ⺌ + crown 冖 + hand 彐 (simplified from 當: 尚 + 田)
Originally written 當, combining 田 'field' with 尚 as a phonetic. The early sense was 'to match' or 'face' a field of equal value, extended to 'correspond to', 'ought to', and 'serve as'. The simplified form 当 streamlines the upper 尚 component.
dāng rán · HSK 3
of course
✅ 当 (ought/should) + 然 (so/thus) = 'it should be so' → of course
当 means 'ought to' or 'should be the case'; 然 means 'so' or 'thus' (also seen in 自然 natural). Together 当然 literally reads as 'it ought to be so,' which is exactly what 'of course' conveys in English.
当 — small ⺌ + crown 冖 + hand 彐 (simplified from 當: 尚 + 田)
Originally written 當, combining 田 'field' with 尚 as a phonetic. The early sense was 'to match' or 'face' a field of equal value, extended to 'correspond to', 'ought to', and 'serve as'. The simplified form 当 streamlines the upper 尚 component.