透 meaning and stroke order
(bound form) to penetrate; to seep through; to tell secretly; to leak; thoroughly; through and through
How to write 透, 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 透
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bound form) to penetrate; to seep through
- to tell secretly; to leak
- thoroughly; through and through
- to appear; to show
How 透 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Walk.
辶 gives the meaning and 秀 hints at the sound.
Radical: 辶 (to walk), shared by 131 characters on this site.
How to remember 透
The walking radical 辶 means movement, and 秀 (xiù) gives the sound. Picture something walking all the way through a wall and out the other side: 透 (tòu) means to pass through.
透 often appears after a verb or adjective to mean "completely" or "through and through," as in 湿透 (shītòu, drenched) or 看透 (kàntòu, to see through). It also forms common words like 透明 (tòumíng, transparent) and 透露 (tòulù, to leak information). Example: 我全身都湿透了。(Wǒ quánshēn dōu shītòu le.) I am soaked all over.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes read 透 as xiù because of the phonetic part 秀, but it is pronounced tòu with a fourth tone. Also do not confuse it with 诱 (yòu, to lure), which has the speech radical 讠 instead of 辶.
Common words with 透
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 透明 | tòumíng | transparent; (fig.) transparent; open to scrutiny | HSK 4 |
| 透露 | tòulù | to leak out; to divulge | HSK 6 |
| 透过 | tòuguò | to pass through; to penetrate; by means of; via | HSK 7-9 |
| 渗透 | shèntòu | (lit. and fig.) to permeate; to seep into | HSK 7-9 |
| 透支 | tòuzhī | (banking) to overdraw; to take out an overdraft | HSK 7-9 |
| 透彻 | tòuchè | penetrating; thorough; incisive | HSK 7-9 |
| 透气 | tòuqì | to flow freely (of air); to ventilate | HSK 7-9 |
| 湿透 | shītòu | drenched; wet through | |
| 看透 | kàntòu | to understand thoroughly; to see beyond the facade | |
| 穿透 | chuāntòu | to penetrate | |
| 烂透 | làntòu | rotten to the core | |
| 透顶 | tòudǐng | out-and-out; thoroughly | |
| 伤透 | shāngtòu | to break (sb's heart); to cause grief to | |
| 透视 | tòushì | (drawing and painting) perspective; (medicine) to perform fluoroscopy; to examine by X-ray |
透 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 透
How many strokes are in 透?
透 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 透 mean?
透 (tòu) means (bound form) to penetrate; to seep through; to tell secretly; to leak; thoroughly; through and through. A common word with it is 透明 (tòumíng), meaning "transparent; (fig.) transparent; open to scrutiny".
How do you pronounce 透?
透 is pronounced tòu, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 透?
The radical of 透 is 辶, which carries the idea of "to walk". Dictionaries list 透 under this radical.
Is 透 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 透 is part of the HSK 4 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 透 mean at the end of a sentence like 糟透了?
After an adjective, 透 works as an intensifier meaning "extremely" or "utterly," usually for negative feelings. 糟透了 (zāo tòu le) means "absolutely terrible." It is usually followed by 了.
What is the difference between 透过 and 通过?
透过 (tòuguò) stresses physically passing through something, like light through glass, or seeing through to something. 通过 (tōngguò) is broader and more common for "by means of" or "to pass an exam or a law." For light or looking through a window, 透过 is the natural choice.