打动
dǎ dòng · HSK 6
touching
💘 打 (hit) + 动 (move) = to strike-move someone's heart
Literally 'hit-move' — the verb 打 (to hit/strike) plus 动 (to move). Together they describe something striking you so hard it moves your emotions: a story, gesture, or song that touches you deeply.
打 — hand radical 扌 + nail 丁
打 combines the hand radical 扌 (action with the hand) with 丁 (originally a nail), suggesting striking or hitting with the hand. 丁 also serves as a phonetic hint in older readings. The meaning broadened from 'to strike' to a general verb for many hand-based actions, like 打电话 'make a phone call'.
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.