豆 meaning and stroke order
Beans, peas; bean-shaped
How to write 豆, stroke by stroke
7 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
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- 4
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- 7
Meaning of 豆
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- legume; pulse; bean; pea (CL:顆|颗[ke1],粒[li4])
- (old) stemmed cup or bowl
- legume; pulse; bean; pea (CL:顆|颗[ke1],粒[li4]) (variant of 豆[dou4])
How 豆 is built
Pictographic character. An old serving dish 口 on a stand with a lid 一.
How to remember 豆
豆 is a picture of an old serving dish: a lid 一 on top, the bowl 口 in the middle, and a stand 丷 with a base 一 below. Picture that little stemmed bowl filled with beans.
豆 rarely stands alone in speech. People usually say 豆子 (dòuzi) for beans or use it in compounds like 豆腐 (dòufu) tofu and 豆浆 (dòujiāng) soy milk. Example: 我早上喝豆浆。(Wǒ zǎoshang hē dòujiāng.) I drink soy milk in the morning.
Common mistake: Learners often assume 土豆 (tǔdòu) is a kind of bean, but in mainland China it means potato. In Taiwan it means peanut. Also keep the fourth tone in dòu and do not confuse it with 逗 (dòu, to tease), which adds the walking radical 辶.
Common words with 豆
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 豆腐 | dòufu | tofu; bean curd | HSK 4 |
| 土豆 | tǔdòu | potato; (Tw) peanut (CL:顆|颗[ke1]) | HSK 5 |
| 豆制品 | dòuzhìpǐn | legume-based product; soybean product | HSK 5 |
| 豆子 | dòuzi | bean; pea | HSK 7-9 |
| 豆浆 | dòujiāng | soy milk | HSK 7-9 |
| 豌豆 | wāndòu | pea (Pisum sativum) | |
| 土豆泥 | tǔdòuní | mashed potato | |
| 大豆 | dàdòu | soybean | |
| 豆瓣 | Dòubàn | cotyledon of a bean or pea (i.e. either of the halves of a bean or pea); thick bean sauce | |
| 红豆 | hóngdòu | azuki bean; red bean | |
| 咖啡豆 | kāfēidòu | coffee beans | |
| 小豆 | xiǎodòu | see 紅豆|红豆[hong2 dou4] | |
| 青豆 | qīngdòu | green soybean; green peas |
豆 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 豆
Learning 豆 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 豆
How many strokes are in 豆?
豆 is written with 7 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 豆 mean?
豆 (dòu) means beans, peas; bean-shaped. A common word with it is 豆腐 (dòufu), meaning "tofu; bean curd".
How do you pronounce 豆?
豆 is pronounced dòu, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the traditional form of 豆?
The traditional form of 豆 is 荳. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 豆 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 豆 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 豆 is part of the HSK 4 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.
What is the difference between 豆子 and 豆?
豆子 (dòuzi) is the everyday standalone word for beans or peas. 豆 by itself mostly appears inside compounds like 大豆 (dàdòu) soybean or 豌豆 (wāndòu) pea.
Why do some characters with 豆 have nothing to do with beans?
The original meaning of 豆 was a stemmed cup or bowl, not a bean. So in characters like 登 (dēng) or 短 (duǎn), 豆 relates to that old vessel shape or gives a sound hint rather than a bean meaning.