Meaning of 岛
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- island
Measure word: 個|个,座
- variant of 島|岛[dao3]
How to use 岛
岛 is often used in compounds like 岛屿 (dǎoyǔ, island) and 半岛 (bàndǎo, peninsula), and it appears in many place names such as 青岛 (Qīngdǎo). Example: 这个岛上没有人住。(Zhège dǎo shang méiyǒu rén zhù.) Nobody lives on this island.
Look at 岛 as a bird perched on a mountain: the top part looks like a simplified 鸟 (niǎo, bird) and 山 (shān, mountain) sits underneath. Picture a lonely rock in the sea where only birds can land, and you have an island.
Common mistake: Learners often write 岛 with the full 鸟 on top, but the bird part loses its bottom stroke and 山 takes its place. Also watch the tone: 岛 is third tone dǎo, not fourth tone like 到 (dào) or 倒 (dào).
岛 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.
岛 dǎo · island · 7 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 岛.
Questions about 岛
What does 岛 mean?
岛 (dǎo) means "island" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 岛?
岛 is made of 1 character: 岛 (7 strokes). That is 7 strokes in total.
Is 岛 an HSK word?
Yes. 岛 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 岛 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 岛 is written 島.
What is the difference between 岛 and 岛屿?
岛 is the everyday word and works alone or in names, like 小岛 (xiǎo dǎo, small island). 岛屿 (dǎoyǔ) is more formal or collective and is common in writing, news, and geography.
Why does 岛 appear in the word for insulin?
Insulin is 胰岛素 (yídǎosù), literally pancreas island substance. It comes from the islets of the pancreas, small island-like groups of cells, so 岛 here is a direct translation of that idea.