陡 meaning and stroke order
Steep; precipitous; (of a change) abrupt; sudden
How to write 陡, stroke by stroke
9 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 陡
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- steep; precipitous
- (of a change) abrupt; sudden
How 陡 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Hill.
阝 gives the meaning and 走 hints at the sound.
Radical: 阝 (place), shared by 160 characters on this site.
How to remember 陡
The left part 阝 is a hill, and 走 (zǒu) means to walk. Picture yourself walking up a hill that is so steep you can barely keep going.
陡 (dǒu) mostly describes slopes, cliffs, roads and stairs that rise sharply, often in the word 陡峭 (dǒuqiào). It can also mean sudden, as in 陡然 (dǒurán), though this is more written. Example: 这条山路很陡。(Zhè tiáo shānlù hěn dǒu.) This mountain road is very steep.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes misread 陡 as zǒu because of the 走 component, but it is read dǒu with a third tone. Also, the 阝 here is on the left, which means hill, so do not confuse it with characters that have 阝 on the right.
Common words with 陡
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 陡峭 | dǒuqiào | precipitous |
陡 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 陡
How many strokes are in 陡?
陡 is written with 9 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 陡 mean?
陡 (dǒu) means steep; precipitous; (of a change) abrupt; sudden. A common word with it is 陡峭 (dǒuqiào), meaning "precipitous".
How do you pronounce 陡?
陡 is pronounced dǒu, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 陡?
The radical of 陡 is 阝, which carries the idea of "place". Dictionaries list 陡 under this radical.
Is 陡 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 陡 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 陡 and 斜 (xié)?
斜 just means slanted or tilted at any angle. 陡 means the slope is sharp and hard to climb. A gentle ramp is 斜 but not 陡.
How do you say a slope is getting steeper?
You can say 越来越陡 (yuè lái yuè dǒu), meaning steeper and steeper. For example, 路越来越陡了 (Lù yuè lái yuè dǒu le) means the road is getting steeper.