淘 meaning and stroke order
To wash (rice, sand etc in water to remove impurities); to dredge; to scoop out (sediment or waste); (dialect) to hunt for and buy (bargains or second-hand goods)
How to write 淘, stroke by stroke
11 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 淘
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to wash (rice, sand etc in water to remove impurities)
- to dredge; to scoop out (sediment or waste)
- (dialect) to hunt for and buy (bargains or second-hand goods)
- (dialect) naughty; mischievous
How 淘 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Water.
氵 gives the meaning and 匋 hints at the sound.
Radical: 氵 (water), shared by 467 characters on this site.
How to remember 淘
淘 is pictophonetic: the water radical 氵 gives the meaning, and 匋 (táo) gives the sound. Picture swirling water in a pan to wash rice or sand, letting the dirt flow away and keeping the good part.
淘 means washing something in water to remove impurities, like rice or sand. It also appears in common words such as 淘汰 (táotài, to eliminate) and 淘气 (táoqì, naughty). Example: 这个孩子很淘气。(Zhège háizi hěn táoqì.) This child is very naughty.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 淘 with 陶 (táo, pottery), which has the same sound and the same phonetic 匋 but uses the 阝 radical instead of 氵. If the meaning involves water or washing, write 淘.
Common words with 淘
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
淘 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 淘
How many strokes are in 淘?
淘 is written with 11 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 淘 mean?
淘 (táo) means to wash (rice, sand etc in water to remove impurities); to dredge; to scoop out (sediment or waste); (dialect) to hunt for and buy (bargains or second-hand goods). A common word with it is 淘汰 (táotài), meaning "to wash out; (fig.) to cull".
How do you pronounce 淘?
淘 is pronounced táo, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 淘?
The radical of 淘 is 氵, which carries the idea of "water". Dictionaries list 淘 under this radical.
Is 淘 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 淘 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 淘汰 mean in everyday use?
淘汰 (táotài) means to eliminate or weed out, for example teams knocked out of a tournament or old products replaced by new ones. 他在第一轮就被淘汰了 (Tā zài dì yī lún jiù bèi táotài le) means he was eliminated in the first round.
Can 淘 mean shopping for bargains?
Yes. In colloquial and dialect use, 淘 means to hunt for and buy bargains or second-hand goods, as in 淘便宜货 (táo piányi huò). This sense is also behind the name 淘宝 (Táobǎo), the online shopping site.