鸵 meaning and stroke order
Ostrich
How to write 鸵, 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.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
Meaning of 鸵
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- ostrich
How 鸵 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Bird.
鸟 gives the meaning and 它 hints at the sound.
Radical: 鸟 (bird), shared by 72 characters on this site.
How to remember 鸵
鸵 is a bird 鸟 (niǎo) on the left with 它 (tā) on the right giving the sound. Picture pointing at a huge bird and saying "look at it, 它, that giant bird" to remember the ostrich.
鸵 almost never appears alone. It is used in the word 鸵鸟 (tuóniǎo), ostrich. Example: 鸵鸟跑得很快。 (Tuóniǎo pǎo de hěn kuài.) Ostriches run very fast.
Common mistake: Learners often read 鸵 as tā because of 它, but the correct reading is tuó with a rising second tone. Also do not confuse it with 驼 (tuó, camel), which has 马 (horse) on the left instead of 鸟.
Common words with 鸵
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 鸵鸟 | tuóniǎo | ostrich |
鸵 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 鸵
How many strokes are in 鸵?
鸵 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 鸵 mean?
鸵 (tuó) means ostrich. A common word with it is 鸵鸟 (tuóniǎo), meaning "ostrich".
How do you pronounce 鸵?
鸵 is pronounced tuó, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 鸵?
The radical of 鸵 is 鸟, which carries the idea of "bird". Dictionaries list 鸵 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 鸵?
The traditional form of 鸵 is 鴕. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 鸵 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
How do you say "burying your head in the sand" like an ostrich in Chinese?
Chinese uses 鸵鸟心态 (tuóniǎo xīntài), literally "ostrich mentality," for someone who avoids facing a problem. You may also hear 鸵鸟政策 (tuóniǎo zhèngcè), an "ostrich policy."
Why do 鸵 and 驼 sound the same?
Both use 它 as the sound part, so both are read tuó. The left side tells you the meaning: 鸟 for the ostrich bird, 马 for the camel in 骆驼 (luòtuo).