陀 meaning and stroke order
Steep bank, rough terrain
How to write 陀, 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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- 7
Meaning of 陀
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (phonetic)
- declivity
- steep bank
How 陀 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Hill.
它 gives the meaning and 阝 hints at the sound.
Radical: 阝 (place), shared by 160 characters on this site.
How to remember 陀
The left part 阝 is the hill side, matching the hint 'hill', and 它 (tā) sits on the right. Picture something sliding down a steep hill bank, and remember the sound tuó is close to tā.
Today 陀 is mostly used for its sound, especially in Buddhist and foreign names like 佛陀 (Fótuó, Buddha) and 吠陀 (fèituó, Vedas). Its most everyday word is the spinning top: 孩子在玩陀螺。(Háizi zài wán tuóluó.) The child is playing with a spinning top.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 陀 with 驼 (tuó, camel, as in 骆驼) and 沱 (tuó), which share 它 and the same sound. Check the left side: 阝 for 陀, 马 for the camel, 氵 for water.
Common words with 陀
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 吠陀 | fèituó | Vedas (Hindu sacred writings or legends) | |
| 陀螺 | tuóluó | spinning top; gyroscope |
陀 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 陀
How many strokes are in 陀?
陀 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 陀 mean?
陀 (tuó) means steep bank, rough terrain. A common word with it is 吠陀 (fèituó), meaning "Vedas (Hindu sacred writings or legends)".
How do you pronounce 陀?
陀 is pronounced tuó, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 陀?
The radical of 陀 is 阝, which carries the idea of "place". Dictionaries list 陀 under this radical.
Why does 陀 appear in 阿弥陀佛?
In 阿弥陀佛 (Ēmítuófó, Amitabha Buddha), 陀 is used only for its sound to spell a Sanskrit name. It does not carry the meaning of a steep bank there.
Is 陀 used on its own in modern Chinese?
Rarely. The sense of a steep bank or slope is mostly found in older texts. In modern speech you will meet 陀 inside words like 陀螺 and in transliterated names.