涕 meaning and stroke order
Tears; mucus
How to write 涕, 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
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
Meaning of 涕
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- tears
- nasal mucus
How 涕 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Water.
氵 gives the meaning and 弟 hints at the sound.
Radical: 氵 (water), shared by 467 characters on this site.
How to remember 涕
The water radical 氵 shows liquid coming from your face, and 弟 (dì) gives the sound. Picture a little brother 弟 crying with tears and a runny nose.
In modern Chinese 涕 almost always means nasal mucus and appears in words like 鼻涕 (bítì). The meaning "tears" survives mainly in literary phrases. Example: 我感冒了，一直流鼻涕。 (Wǒ gǎnmào le, yīzhí liú bítì.) I have a cold and my nose keeps running.
Common mistake: Learners often read 涕 as dì because of the phonetic 弟, but the correct reading is tì with a fourth tone. Also do not confuse it with 梯 (tī, ladder), which has the wood radical 木 and a first tone.
Common words with 涕
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
涕 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 涕
How many strokes are in 涕?
涕 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 涕 mean?
涕 (tì) means tears; mucus. A common word with it is 鼻涕 (bítì), meaning "nasal mucus; snivel; snot".
How do you pronounce 涕?
涕 is pronounced tì, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 涕?
The radical of 涕 is 氵, which carries the idea of "water". Dictionaries list 涕 under this radical.
Is 涕 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 涕 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Is 鼻涕 a rude word in Chinese?
No, 鼻涕 is a normal, neutral word you can use with a doctor or with friends. It is about as polite as saying "runny nose" in English.
What does 鼻涕虫 mean?
Literally it is a "snot bug", and it is the everyday word for a slug. It can also be a teasing name for a child who always has a runny nose.