塗 meaning and stroke order
To smear, to scribble, to daub; surname
How to write 塗, stroke by stroke
13 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
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
Meaning of 塗
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to apply (paint etc)
- to smear
- to daub
- to blot out
- to scribble
- to scrawl
How 塗 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Water.
氵 gives the meaning and 余 hints at the sound.
Radical: 土 (soil), shared by 183 characters on this site.
How to remember 塗
塗 is 涂 stacked on top of 土 (tǔ, earth). Picture wet mud, water 氵 mixed with earth 土, being smeared across a wall.
塗 is the traditional form of 涂, so you will see 涂 in mainland texts and 塗 in Taiwan and Hong Kong. It covers putting on paint, lotion, or makeup, and also scribbling or crossing things out. Example: 牆上塗了新油漆。(Qiáng shàng tú le xīn yóuqī.) The wall was given a new coat of paint.
Common mistake: Learners often write 途 (tú, road, as in 路途) when they mean 塗, because the two sound the same and both contain 余. Remember that 途 has the walking radical 辶, while 塗 has water 氵 and earth 土 for smearing.
Common words with 塗
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 糊塗 | hútu | muddled; silly | HSK 7-9 |
| 一塌糊塗 | yītāhútú | muddled and completely collapsing (idiom); in an awful condition; complete shambles | HSK 7-9 |
| 塗鴉 | túyā | graffiti; scrawl | |
| 塗料 | túliào | paint | |
| 一敗塗地 | yībàitúdì | lit. defeated, the ground blanketed with bodies (idiom); fig. to suffer a crushing defeat | |
| 老糊塗 | lǎohútu | dotard |
Questions about 塗
How many strokes are in 塗?
塗 is written with 13 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 塗 mean?
塗 (tú) means to smear, to scribble, to daub; surname. A common word with it is 糊涂 (hútu), meaning "muddled; silly".
How do you pronounce 塗?
塗 is pronounced tú, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 塗?
The radical of 塗 is 土, which carries the idea of "soil". Dictionaries list 塗 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 塗?
塗 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 涂, used in mainland China and Singapore.
Why does 糊涂 (hútu) mean confused if 塗 means to smear?
Think of a mind that is smeared over like paste, so nothing is clear. In 糊涂 the second syllable is usually said in the neutral tone, hútu, not with a full second tone.
How do I say to put on sunscreen or lipstick with 塗?
Use 塗 as the verb with the product as its object, for example 塗防曬霜 (tú fángshàishuāng), to put on sunscreen, or 塗口紅 (tú kǒuhóng), to put on lipstick. The verb 擦 (cā) is also common for creams.