How to Write 董 (dǒng) — Meaning “to supervise / director / (surname)”

Imagine a director (董) standing on a grass field (艹), carrying a heavy (重) pile of documents because supervising is a heavy responsibility. This connects the top grass radical with the bottom heavy component to recall the meaning of 'director'.

Start with the grass radical 艹: write a horizontal line, then a vertical line through the middle, then a final horizontal line. For 重 below, write a left-falling stroke, then a horizontal, then a vertical line that stays straight through the center. Keep the top and bottom parts balanced in size, not too tall or short.

The key difference is the bottom part: 董 has 重 (heavy), while 荷 has 何 (what) and 荸 has 孛 (a component meaning 'star'). Visually, 董 looks fuller and heavier at the bottom. Also, 董 is used for directors and surnames, while 荷 means lotus and 荸 is part of 'water chestnut'.

董 appears in common words like 董事 (director of a board) and 董事长 (chairman of the board) for company leadership. It is also a common family name, 姓董. You will see it in business contexts or when referring to people surnamed Dong.

Common words containing 董 include: 董事 (dǒng shì) — director (of a board); 董事长 (dǒng shì zhǎng) — chairman of the board; 姓董 (xìng dǒng) — Surname Dong.