<p>当属 is an abbreviation of 应当属于, which means should be.</p>

<p>应当 means should, 属于 means be/is (of which the original meaning is belong to. Here maybe you can interpret it as attribute to? I'm not sure.)</p>

<p>So you can say 当属 or 应当是.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-09T06:37:24.807Z
I sincerely believe, half of Chinese is abbreviated away. How is a poor 老外 supposed to understand that? Have an upvote! Thanks!
Pedroski
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-09T06:33:16.643Z
2015-05-09T08:48:23.607Z
2015-05-09T08:48:23.607Z
Eleatmelon
<p>当属, the meaning is "would be" something..</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-09T12:37:10.567Z
2015-05-09T12:37:10.567Z
PdotWang
<p>The word 当 has multiple meanings. 当 itself mean 'when' or 'to hold a position' (as in 当之无愧). It could mean 'should' when pairing with 应~ or 該~. 仅当 means 'only if'. When pairing with other words, it seems that 当 does not carry any particular meaning.</p>

<p>In your context, I think the whole '当属' could be replaced with '是'. It is 'should be' in a very certain sense, similar to '非XX莫屬' (could not be anything else but XX).</p>

<p>ps. The word 令 should be added to the first sentence 其中令中国人感触最深的.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-09T08:29:11.567Z
2015-05-10T10:17:38.453Z
2015-05-10T10:17:38.453Z
Lai
<p>No,you can NOT. "当属" IS a word. "当" means "should"; "属" means "是" ("be") here; "当属" means "should be". Moreover, "是属" is not a valid word in Chinese.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-09T06:32:01.340Z
Are you sure about that? Can you give me a link to an online dictionary which shows 当属 as a word? The dicts I use do not show that.
Pedroski
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-09T06:00:24.603Z
2015-05-09T06:24:22.610Z
2015-05-09T06:24:22.610Z
Don Zhang
<p>Listening to this text, it sounded like 当属 is a word. I can find lots of examples of 当属 acting like a word, but dictionaries don't seem to regard 当属 as a word. </p>

<p>Could I simply replace 当 with 是 here?</p>

<p>...其中中国人感触最深的<strong>当属</strong>汽车进入家庭给我们带来的种种便利以及它给中国人的生活带来的改变。</p>

<meaning>
Can I replace 当 with 是 in this sentence
# Can I replace 当 with 是 in this sentence

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-05-09)

Listening to this text, it sounded like 当属 is a word. I can find lots of examples of 当属 acting like a word, but dictionaries don't seem to regard 当属 as a word.

Could I simply replace 当 with 是 here?

...其中中国人感触最深的**当属**汽车进入家庭给我们带来的种种便利以及它给中国人的生活带来的改变。

**Tags:** meaning


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## 4 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2015-05-09. Score: 4

当属 is an abbreviation of 应当属于, which means should be.

应当 means should, 属于 means be/is (of which the original meaning is belong to. Here maybe you can interpret it as attribute to? I'm not sure.)

So you can say 当属 or 应当是.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: I sincerely believe, half of Chinese is abbreviated away. How is a poor 老外 supposed to understand that? Have an upvote! Thanks!  

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### Answer by username_2 on 2015-05-09. Score: 0

当属, the meaning is "would be" something..


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### Answer by username_3 on 2015-05-09. Score: 0

The word 当 has multiple meanings. 当 itself mean 'when' or 'to hold a position' (as in 当之无愧). It could mean 'should' when pairing with 应~ or 該~. 仅当 means 'only if'. When pairing with other words, it seems that 当 does not carry any particular meaning.

In your context, I think the whole '当属' could be replaced with '是'. It is 'should be' in a very certain sense, similar to '非XX莫屬' (could not be anything else but XX).

ps. The word 令 should be added to the first sentence 其中令中国人感触最深的.


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### Answer by username_4 on 2015-05-09. Score: 0

No,you can NOT. "当属" IS a word. "当" means "should"; "属" means "是" ("be") here; "当属" means "should be". Moreover, "是属" is not a valid word in Chinese.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Are you sure about that? Can you give me a link to an online dictionary which shows 当属 as a word? The dicts I use do not show that.  

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