拖 meaning and stroke order
To drag; to tow; to trail
How to write 拖, stroke by stroke
8 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 拖
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to drag
- to tow
- to trail
- to hang down
- to mop (the floor)
- to delay
How 拖 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Hand.
扌 gives the meaning.
Radical: 扌 (hand), shared by 342 characters on this site.
How to remember 拖
拖 has a hand 扌 on the left, and on the right a person 亻 above 也. Picture a hand grabbing a person and dragging them along behind you.
拖 means to pull something along the ground or behind you, and by extension to drag out time, as in 拖延 (tuōyán). It is also the everyday verb for mopping, 拖地 (tuō dì). Example: 我每天晚上拖地。(Wǒ měitiān wǎnshang tuō dì.) I mop the floor every evening.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 拖 with 托 (tuō, to hold up on the palm), which has the same sound and the same hand radical. Remember that 拖 pulls something behind you, while 托 supports something from below.
Common words with 拖
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 拖鞋 | tuōxié | slippers; sandals | HSK 6 |
| 拖延 | tuōyán | to delay; to put off | HSK 7-9 |
| 拖累 | tuōlěi | to encumber; to be a burden on | HSK 7-9 |
| 拖欠 | tuōqiàn | in arrears; behind in payments | HSK 7-9 |
| 拖车 | tuōchē | to tow; towed vehicle | |
| 拖住 | tuōzhù | to hold up; to hinder | |
| 拍拖 | pāituō | (dialect) to date sb | |
| 拖走 | tuōzǒu | to drag away | |
| 拖把 | tuōbǎ | mop | |
| 拖拉机 | tuōlājī | tractor | |
| 拖延时间 | tuōyánshíjiān | to procrastinate; to stall for time | |
| 拖下水 | tuōxiàshuǐ | lit. to pull sb into the water; to involve sb in a messy business | |
| 拖进 | tuōjìn | to drag in | |
| 拖拖拉拉 | tuōtuōlālā | to procrastinate |
拖 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 拖
How many strokes are in 拖?
拖 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 拖 mean?
拖 (tuō) means to drag; to tow; to trail. A common word with it is 拖鞋 (tuōxié), meaning "slippers; sandals".
How do you pronounce 拖?
拖 is pronounced tuō, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 拖?
The radical of 拖 is 扌, which carries the idea of "hand". Dictionaries list 拖 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 拖?
The traditional form of 拖 is 拕. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 拖 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 拖 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 拖 is part of the HSK 6 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 拖 and 拉?
拉 (lā) is the general word for pull, in any direction. 拖 stresses dragging something heavy along the ground or behind you, often slowly, and it also covers delaying.
Why does 拍拖 mean to date someone?
拍拖 (pāituō) comes from Cantonese and is common in Hong Kong and southern China. In standard Mandarin people usually say 谈恋爱 (tán liàn'ài) instead.