禱 meaning and stroke order
To pray, to entreat, to beg; prayer
How to write 禱, stroke by stroke
18 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 禱
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- prayer
- pray
- supplication
How 禱 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Spirit.
礻 gives the meaning and 壽 hints at the sound.
Radical: 礻 (spirit), shared by 43 characters on this site.
How to remember 禱
The left side 礻 is the spirit radical, used for gods and rituals, and the right side 壽 (shòu, long life) gives the sound. Picture someone asking the spirits for a long life, and you have 禱, to pray.
禱 is the traditional form and rarely appears alone. It mostly shows up in words like 祈禱 (qídǎo) and 禱告 (dǎogào), which are used for religious prayer and for sincere wishes. Example: 我們為她祈禱。(Wǒmen wèi tā qídǎo.) We are praying for her.
Common mistake: Learners often read 禱 as shòu because of 壽, but the correct reading is dǎo, third tone. Also do not confuse 礻 (spirit) with 衤 (clothing), which has one extra stroke.
Common words with 禱
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
Questions about 禱
How many strokes are in 禱?
禱 is written with 18 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 禱 mean?
禱 (dǎo) means to pray, to entreat, to beg; prayer. A common word with it is 祈祷 (qídǎo), meaning "to pray; to say a prayer".
How do you pronounce 禱?
禱 is pronounced dǎo, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 禱?
The radical of 禱 is 礻, which carries the idea of "spirit". Dictionaries list 禱 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 禱?
禱 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 祷, used in mainland China and Singapore.
What is the difference between 祈禱 and 禱告?
Both mean to pray. 禱告 (dǎogào) is especially common among Christians for speaking to God. 祈禱 (qídǎo) is broader and is often used for hoping or wishing someone well.
Why does 禱 sound like dǎo when 壽 is pronounced shòu?
Sound components in Chinese characters often give only an approximate or historical hint. Several characters with 壽, such as 濤 (tāo) and 島-like readings in 搗 (dǎo), share the ao sound, so 壽 hints at the rhyme rather than the exact syllable.