泰 meaning and stroke order

tài

Great, exalted, superior; calm; big

Strokes10
Pinyintài
ToneTone 4
Frequency#1,111

How to write 泰, stroke by stroke

10 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. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10

Meaning of 泰

Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.

tàifourth tone (falling)
  1. safe
  2. peaceful
  3. most
  4. grand

How 泰 is built

Ideographic (compound meaning) character. Water 氺 contained by a dam.

Radical: 氺 (), shared by 4 characters on this site.

How to remember 泰

The bottom of 泰 (tài) is 氺, a form of water, held in place by the strokes above it like a dam. Water that is safely contained is calm and peaceful, which fits the meanings "safe" and "grand."

泰 appears mostly in set words and names rather than on its own. It is common in 泰山 (Tàishān, Mount Tai), 泰国 (Tàiguó, Thailand), and the respected-expert word 泰斗 (tàidǒu). Example: 他是物理学界的泰斗。(Tā shì wùlǐ xuéjiè de tàidǒu.) He is a leading authority in physics.

Common mistake: Learners often confuse 泰 with 秦 (qín), which has a similar top but 禾 at the bottom instead of 氺. Also do not mix up 泰 with the more common 太 (tài, too or very), which sounds the same but is a different word.

Common words with 泰

Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.

WordPinyinMeaningLevel
泰斗tàidǒuabbr. for 泰山北斗[Tai4 shan1 Bei3 dou3]HSK 7-9
泰迪tàidítoy poodle with a teddy-bear cut
泰迪熊tàidíxióng(loanword) teddy bear

泰 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

你nǐ们men会huì讲jiǎng加jiā泰tài罗luó尼ní亚yà语yǔ吗ma?
Do you speak Catalan?
史shǐ泰tài龙lóng是shì从cóng拍pāi电diàn影yǐng而ér出chū名míng的de。
Stallone became famous through film.
这zhè些xiē都dōu是shì阿ā尔ěr泰tài语yǔ系xì的de语yǔ言yán。
These are all languages of the Altaic language family group.
泰tài语yǔ是shì泰tài国guó的de官guān方fāng语yǔ言yán。
Thai is the official language of Thailand.
泰tài塔tǎ尼ní克kè号hào的de首shǒu航háng不bú是shì很hěn好hǎo的de。
The Titanic's maiden voyage didn't go so well.

Questions about 泰

How many strokes are in 泰?

泰 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.

What does 泰 mean?

泰 (tài) means great, exalted, superior; calm; big. A common word with it is 泰斗 (tàidǒu), meaning "abbr. for 泰山北斗[Tai4 shan1 Bei3 dou3]".

How do you pronounce 泰?

泰 is pronounced tài, in the fourth tone (falling).

What is the radical of 泰?

The radical of 泰 is 氺. Dictionaries list 泰 under this radical.

Is 泰 on the HSK exam?

Yes. 泰 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.

What does 泰然 mean?

泰然 (tàirán) means calm and composed, unbothered by trouble. It often appears in 泰然自若 (tàirán zìruò), to stay perfectly calm.

Why is Thailand called 泰国?

泰国 (Tàiguó) is based on the sound of "Thai," with 国 meaning country. The character 泰 was chosen partly for its sound and its good meaning of peace and prosperity.

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