| 打 | dǎ | a semantically light, transitive verb that is combined with various grammatical objects to form compound verbs and verb-object phrases with a diverse range of meanings (e.g. 打傘|打伞[da3san3] "to hold an umbrella", 打電話|打电话[da3 dian4hua4] "to make a phone call", 打針|打针[da3zhen1] "to get an injection", 打手套[da3 shou3tao4] "to knit gloves", 打氣|打气[da3qi4] "to inflate") / to hit; to strike / to fight / (coll.) from; since (as in 打那以後|打那以后[da3 na4 yi3hou4] "since then") |
| 打电话 | dǎ diàn huà | to make a telephone call |