叨 meaning and stroke order
Talkative; grumbling
How to write 叨, stroke by stroke
5 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Meaning of 叨
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- garrulous
- to receive the benefit of
How 叨 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Mouth.
口 gives the meaning and 刀 hints at the sound.
Radical: 口 (mouth), shared by 428 characters on this site.
How to remember 叨
A mouth 口 on the left and a knife 刀 (dāo) on the right. The 刀 gives the sound dāo, and the 口 tells you it is about talking, like a mouth that keeps chopping away with words.
叨 almost always appears in two-character words about talking too much or repeating yourself, such as 唠叨 (láodao) and 念叨 (niàndao). In these words it is usually read in the neutral tone. Example: 我妈总是唠叨我。(Wǒ mā zǒngshì láodao wǒ.) My mom is always nagging me.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 叨 with 叼 (diāo, to hold in the mouth), which has 刁 instead of 刀 on the right. Check for the hook: 刀 has a stroke that crosses over, while 刁 has a tick at the bottom.
Common words with 叨
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
叨 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 叨
How many strokes are in 叨?
叨 is written with 5 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 叨 mean?
叨 (dāo) means talkative; grumbling. A common word with it is 唠叨 (láodao), meaning "to prattle; to chatter away".
How do you pronounce 叨?
叨 is pronounced dāo, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 叨?
The radical of 叨 is 口, which carries the idea of "mouth". Dictionaries list 叨 under this radical.
Is 叨 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 叨 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why does 叨 sound like dao instead of dāo in 唠叨?
In common words like 唠叨 (láodao), 絮叨 (xùdao), and 念叨 (niàndao), the second syllable loses its tone and becomes neutral. You only hear the full first tone dāo when the syllable is stressed, as in 叨叨 (dāodao) or 唠唠叨叨 (láolaodāodāo).
What does the tāo reading of 叨 mean?
Read tāo, 叨 means to receive a benefit or favor, a polite and rather formal usage. It is rare in everyday speech, so most learners only need the dāo reading for talking and grumbling.