掉 meaning in English

diào

to fall; to drop

HSK 2verb11 strokes

Meaning of 掉

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

diào

to fall
to drop
to lag behind
to lose
to go missing
to reduce
fall (in prices)
to lose (value, weight etc)

How to use 掉

掉 (diào) means to fall or drop, and it often appears after another verb to show something is gone or removed, as in 关掉 (guāndiào) and 忘掉 (wàngdiào). Example: 我的手机掉了。(Wǒ de shǒujī diào le.) My phone fell. / I lost my phone.

掉 has the hand radical 扌 on the left, so picture a hand letting something slip. The hand loses its grip and the thing falls or goes missing.

Common mistake: Learners often confuse 掉 with 倒 (dǎo). 掉 is dropping from a height or being lost, while 倒 is falling over from standing, like a person or a tree toppling. Also keep the fourth tone: diào, not diāo.

掉 in example sentences

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

请qǐng你nǐ把bǎ收shōu音yīn机jī关guān掉diào。

Please turn off the radio.

他tā开kāi始shǐ掉diào头tóu发fā了le。

He is beginning to lose his hair.

我wǒ今jīn天tiān晚wǎn上shàng死sǐ掉diào。

I'm going to die tonight.

请qǐng把bǎ发fā动dòng机jī关guān掉diào。

Please turn off your engine.

我wǒ必bì须xū把bǎ文wén身shēn去qù掉diào。

I had to get my tattoo removed.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

掉 diào · to fall · 11 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 掉.

去掉	qùdiào	to get rid of; to exclude
关掉	guāndiào	to switch off; to shut off
忘掉	wàngdiào	to forget
丢掉	diūdiào	to lose; to throw away
掉头	diàotóu	to turn one's head; to turn round
掉队	diàoduì	to fall behind; to drop out
干掉	gàndiào	to get rid of
杀掉	shādiào	to kill
吃掉	chīdiào	to eat up; to consume
毁掉	huǐdiào	to destroy
脱掉	tuōdiào	to remove; to take off
卖掉	màidiào	to sell off

Questions about 掉

What does 掉 mean?

掉 (diào) means "to fall; to drop" and is used as a verb.

How do you write 掉?

掉 is made of 1 character: 掉 (11 strokes). That is 11 strokes in total.

Is 掉 an HSK word?

Yes. 掉 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

What does 掉 mean when it comes after another verb?

After a verb, 掉 is a result complement meaning the thing is removed or gone. 去掉 (qùdiào) is to get rid of, 丢掉 (diūdiào) is to throw away, and 关掉 (guāndiào) is to switch off.

Can 掉 describe losing weight or prices going down?

Yes. 掉了五公斤 (diào le wǔ gōngjīn) means lost five kilograms, and prices can 掉 as well. It can also mean falling behind, as in 掉队 (diàoduì), to drop out of a group.