An onomatopoeic word for a heavy impact or booming sound (bang, thud, boom); often used to emphasize a strong, sudden action or event.
ドアがどんと閉まった。
The door slammed (with a bang).
遠くで太鼓がどんと鳴っている。
A drum is booming in the distance.
彼は疲れて床にどんと座り込んだ。
He flopped down onto the floor with a thud.
Noonday gun; historically the firing of a gun at noon (a form of noontime signal, used e.g. in Meiji–Taishō periods).
昔の港町では正午にどんが鳴らされたと記録にある。
Records say that in former port towns a noonday gun was fired at noon.
In hanafuda slang, the last round in a game of twelve rounds (colloquial usage).
この勝負は最後のどんで決まった。
This match was decided in the final 'don' round.
Used as a prefix to add emphasis, meaning roughly 'precisely', 'exactly', or 'utterly' in colloquial compounds.
彼の予想はどんぴしゃで当たった。
His prediction was exactly right.
A dialectal honorific suffix (southern Kyushu), equivalent to -san (Mr./Ms./Mrs.), e.g. 'Tanaka-don'.
あの人は田中どんと呼ばれている。
That person is called 'Tanaka-don'.