Meaning of 太
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- highest
- greatest
- too (much)
- very
- extremely
How to use 太
太 is most often used before an adjective to mean "too" or "so very," and it usually pairs with 了 (le) at the end of the sentence. Example: 这个太贵了。(Zhège tài guì le.) This is too expensive. 不太 (bù tài) softens a statement to mean "not very," as in 不太好 (bù tài hǎo), not very good.
太 (tài) looks like 大 (dà, big) with an extra dot underneath. Think of the dot as one more bit added to something already big, so it becomes too big.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 太 with 大 (dà) or 犬 (quǎn, dog). In 太 the dot sits inside, below the crossing strokes. In 犬 the dot sits at the upper right. Another common slip is leaving out 了 in sentences like 太好了 (tài hǎo le), which sounds incomplete without it.
太 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
太 tài · highest · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Related words
Words that share a character with 太.
| 太太 | tàitai | married woman; Mrs. |
| 太阳 | tàiyáng | sun; sunlight; sunshine |
| 不太 | bù tài | |
| 老太太 | lǎotàitai | elderly lady (respectful); esteemed mother |
| 太空 | tàikōng | outer space |
| 太阳能 | tàiyángnéng | solar energy |
| 太平 | tàipíng | peace and security |
| 晒太阳 | shài tàiyáng | to be in the sun (getting warm or sunbathing etc); to put sth in the sun (e.g. to dry it) |
| 太极 | tàijí | the Absolute or Supreme Ultimate, the source of all things according to some interpretatio |
| 太极拳 | tàijíquán | shadowboxing or Taiji, T'aichi or T'aichichuan; traditional form of physical exercise or r |
| 太好了 | tàihǎole | very good |
| 不太好 | bùtàihǎo | not so good; not too well |
Questions about 太
What does 太 mean?
太 (tài) means "highest; greatest" and is used as a adverb.
How do you write 太?
太 is made of 1 character: 太 (4 strokes). That is 4 strokes in total.
Is 太 an HSK word?
Yes. 太 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Does 太 always mean something negative like "too much"?
No. 太 can express strong positive feeling too, as in 太好了 (tài hǎo le), "That's great." The context and your tone show whether it means "too" or "really."
Why does 太 appear in words like 太太 and 太阳?
These words draw on the sense of "highest" or "greatest." 太阳 (tàiyáng) is the sun, and 太太 (tàitai) is a respectful word for a married woman or Mrs. In these words 太 does not mean "too."