涛 meaning and stroke order
Large waves
How to write 涛, 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.
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Meaning of 涛
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- big wave
- Taiwan pr. [tao2]
How 涛 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Water.
氵 gives the meaning and 寿 hints at the sound.
Radical: 氵 (water), shared by 467 characters on this site.
How to remember 涛
涛 has the water radical 氵 on the left, so it is about water. The right side 寿 (shòu, long life) gives the sound, so picture waves that roll on and on, living a long life across the sea.
涛 is a literary word and rarely stands alone in speech. It appears mostly in set words like 波涛 (bōtāo) and 惊涛骇浪 (jīngtāo hàilàng), and it is also common in given names. Example: 海上波涛汹涌。(Hǎi shàng bōtāo xiōngyǒng.) The waves at sea are surging.
Common mistake: Learners often read 涛 as shòu because of the phonetic part 寿, but the sound is tāo. It is also easy to confuse with 寿 alone or with 筹 (chóu), which shares the same right side.
Common words with 涛
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 波涛 | bōtāo | billows; great waves; surging waves | HSK 7-9 |
涛 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 涛
How many strokes are in 涛?
涛 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 涛 mean?
涛 (tāo) means large waves. A common word with it is 波涛 (bōtāo), meaning "billows; great waves; surging waves".
How do you pronounce 涛?
涛 is pronounced tāo, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 涛?
The radical of 涛 is 氵, which carries the idea of "water". Dictionaries list 涛 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 涛?
The traditional form of 涛 is 濤. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 涛 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 涛 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 涛 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 涛 and 浪?
浪 (làng) is the everyday word for a wave and works on its own, as in 海浪 (hǎilàng). 涛 means big, powerful waves and sounds more literary, so it usually appears inside fixed words like 波涛.
Is the tone of 涛 different in Taiwan?
Yes. In mainland Mandarin it is first tone, tāo. In Taiwan it is commonly pronounced with the second tone, táo.