How to Write 挡 (dǎng/dàng) — Meaning “block; shield”

Imagine your hand (扌) comes up to block a sudden punch, and you shout "Dang!" as the impact happens. The sound "dang" matches the pinyin dǎng and helps you recall the meaning of blocking.

Write the radical 扌 first: horizontal, vertical hook, then lift. Then write 当: vertical stroke, a small dot on top, horizontal fold, horizontal, and finally horizontal. A common mistake is making the dot on 当 too large or forgetting it entirely, so keep it small and centered.

挡 has 当 on the right and means "to block"; 㧜 is a rare character (sometimes used as a variant in archaic texts) and is not used in modern Chinese. 扭 has 丑 on the right and means "to twist" or "to turn" — the key visual difference is the right side: 当 vs. 丑.

You use 挡 in daily life for physically blocking something, like 挡风 (shielding wind) or 挡路 (blocking the road). It also appears in the idiom 挡箭牌 (dǎng jiàn pái), which literally means "arrow-shield" but is used metaphorically for an excuse or scapegoat.

Common words containing 挡 include: 挡住 (dǎng zhù) — block; stop; 挡风 (dǎng fēng) — shield from the wind; 挡路 (dǎng lù) — block the way.