岛 meaning and stroke order
Island
How to write 岛, stroke by stroke
7 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 岛
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- island
- variant of 島|岛[dao3]
How 岛 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A bird 鸟 perched atop a mountain 山.
Radical: 山 (mountain), shared by 111 characters on this site.
How to remember 岛
Picture a bird 鸟 resting on a mountain 山 that rises out of the sea. That mountain peak in the water, where seabirds land, is an island 岛 (dǎo).
岛 often appears in compounds like 岛屿 (dǎoyǔ, islands), 半岛 (bàndǎo, peninsula) and 群岛 (qúndǎo, archipelago), and it also ends many place names such as 海南岛 (Hǎinán Dǎo). Example: 我们坐船去那个小岛。(Wǒmen zuò chuán qù nàge xiǎo dǎo.) We are taking a boat to that small island.
Common mistake: In 岛 the bird 鸟 loses its bottom horizontal stroke, and 山 sits tucked inside the hook. Learners often write the full 鸟 with 山 below it. Also keep the third tone dǎo apart from 到 (dào, to arrive) and 倒 (dǎo, to fall over).
Common words with 岛
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
岛 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 岛
Learning 岛 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 岛
How many strokes are in 岛?
岛 is written with 7 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 岛 mean?
岛 (dǎo) means island. A common word with it is 岛屿 (dǎoyǔ), meaning "island".
How do you pronounce 岛?
岛 is pronounced dǎo, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 岛?
The radical of 岛 is 山, which carries the idea of "mountain". Dictionaries list 岛 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 岛?
The traditional form of 岛 is 㠀 and 島. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 岛 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 岛 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 岛 is part of the HSK 6 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.
Why does the word for insulin, 胰岛素, contain 岛?
胰岛素 (yídǎosù) literally means the substance from the pancreatic islets. Those cell clusters in the pancreas look like small islands, so they are called 胰岛 (yídǎo).
What is the difference between 岛 and 岛屿?
岛 is the basic word and is used alone or in names, like 这个岛 (this island). 岛屿 (dǎoyǔ) is more formal or written and often refers to islands in general or as a group.