TraceHanzi

骰 meaning and stroke order

tóu

Die, dice

13 strokesRadical 骨
Strokes13
Pinyintóu
ToneTone 2
Frequency#3,515
Printable worksheet

How to write 骰, stroke by stroke

13 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. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13

Meaning of 骰

Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.

tóusecond tone (rising)
  1. dice

How 骰 is built

Ideographic (compound meaning) character. Tools 殳 made of bone 骨.

gǔbone+shūtool

Radical: 骨 (bone), shared by 21 characters on this site.

How to remember 骰

On the left is 骨 (gǔ, bone) and on the right is 殳 (shū, a tool or weapon). Picture small game tools 殳 carved from bone 骨, which is exactly what old dice were.

骰 almost never appears alone. It shows up in 骰子 (tóuzi, dice) and in the phrase 掷骰子 (zhì tóuzi, to throw the dice). Example: 我们掷骰子决定谁先走。(Wǒmen zhì tóuzi juédìng shéi xiān zǒu.) We roll the dice to decide who goes first.

Common mistake: Learners often read 骰 as gǔ because of the 骨 on the left, but it is tóu, the same sound as 头 (tóu). In 骰子 the 子 is neutral tone, so say tóuzi, not tóuzǐ.

Common words with 骰

Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.

WordPinyinMeaningLevel
骰子tóuzidice
掷骰子zhìtóuzito throw the dice

骰 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

轮lún到dào我wǒ扔rēng骰tóu子zi了le。
It's my turn to roll the dice.
他tā掷zhì骰tóu子zi之zhī前qián让ràng他tā的de女nǚ友yǒu在zài上shàng面miàn吹chuī气qì来lái给gěi他tā带dài来lái好hǎo运yùn。
He had his girlfriend blow on the dice for luck before he threw them.

Questions about 骰

How many strokes are in 骰?

骰 is written with 13 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.

What does 骰 mean?

骰 (tóu) means die, dice. A common word with it is 骰子 (tóuzi), meaning "dice".

How do you pronounce 骰?

骰 is pronounced tóu, in the second tone (rising).

What is the radical of 骰?

The radical of 骰 is 骨, which carries the idea of "bone". Dictionaries list 骰 under this radical.

How do you say one die versus several dice in Chinese?

Chinese uses 骰子 (tóuzi) for both. Add a number and the measure word 个 (gè) or 颗 (kē), for example 一颗骰子 (yì kē tóuzi) for one die and 两颗骰子 (liǎng kē tóuzi) for two.

Is there another common word for dice in spoken Chinese?

Yes. In many northern areas people say 色子 (shǎizi), and you will hear both words. 骰子 (tóuzi) is the more standard written form.