Definitions

dǎng (verb) to block; to obstruct; to get in the way of
dǎng (noun) gear (in a car's transmission)
dàng (verb) to arrange; to put in order

Etymology

A hand  raised at the right time  also provides the pronunciation

About

The character 挡, with its traditional form 擋, is a phono-semantic compound. The hand radical 扌 on the left indicates an action performed with the hands or arms. In the traditional structure, the right side is the phonetic component 黨, which was simplified to 当 in the modern form to serve the same phonetic function. The core meaning is the physical act of obstructing or blocking. This concept of creating a barrier extends to various applications, such as describing gears in machinery or sheltering someone from wind and rain.

Example Sentences Hide

住门口。

Qǐng dǎng zhù mén kǒu.

Please block the doorway.

他用手太阳。

Tā yòng shǒu dǎng tài yáng.

He uses his hand to block the sun.

这棵树住了风景。

Zhè kē shù dǎng zhù le fēng jǐng.

This tree blocks the view.

大雨不住我们前进。

Dà yǔ dǎng bù zhù wǒ men qián jìn.

The heavy rain cannot stop us from moving forward.

她试图用伞住雨水。

Tā shì tú yòng sǎn dǎng zhù yǔ shuǐ.

She tried to use an umbrella to block the rainwater.

前面的车住了我的视线。

Qián miàn de chē dǎng zhù le wǒ de shì xiàn.

The car in front blocked my line of sight.

尽管有困难,但不住他的热情。

Jǐn guǎn yǒu kùn nan, dàn dǎng bù zhù tā de rè qíng.

Even though there are difficulties, they cannot block his enthusiasm.

这项政策旨在住外来竞争。

Zhè xiàng zhèng cè zhǐ zài dǎng zhù wài lái jìng zhēng.

This policy aims to block foreign competition.