Meaning of 脱
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to shed
- to take off
- to escape
- to get away from
How to use 脱
In daily speech 脱 most often means taking off clothes, shoes or hats, and it also appears in words about escaping or breaking away, such as 摆脱 (bǎituō) and 脱离 (tuōlí). Example: 进门请脱鞋。(Jìn mén qǐng tuō xié.) Please take off your shoes when you come in.
脱 has the flesh/body component 月 on the left and 兑 (duì) on the right. Picture the body 月 slipping out of its outer layer, like a snake shedding its skin, to remember the idea of taking off or getting free.
Common mistake: Learners often use 脱 for putting on clothes, but putting on is 穿 (chuān), and 脱 is only for taking off. Also do not confuse 脱 with 说 (shuō, to speak), which shares the same right side 兑 but has the speech component 讠 on the left.
脱 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.
脱 tuō · to shed · 11 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 脱.
| 摆脱 | bǎituō | to break away from; to cast off (old ideas etc) |
| 脱离 | tuōlí | to separate oneself from; to break away from |
| 解脱 | jiětuō | to untie; to free |
| 脱身 | tuōshēn | to get away; to escape (from obligations) |
| 脱落 | tuōluò | to drop off; to fall off; (of hair, teeth etc) to fall out; to omit (a character when writ |
| 脱颖而出 | tuōyǐng'érchū | to reveal one's talent (idiom); to rise above others; to distinguish oneself |
| 脱节 | tuōjié | to come apart |
| 脱口而出 | tuōkǒu'érchū | (idiom) to blurt out; to let slip (an indiscreet remark) |
| 脱掉 | tuōdiào | to remove; to take off |
| 逃脱 | táotuō | to run away; to escape |
| 脱衣服 | tuōyīfú | undress |
| 脱衣舞 | tuōyīwǔ | striptease |
Questions about 脱
What does 脱 mean?
脱 (tuō) means "to shed; to take off" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 脱?
脱 is made of 1 character: 脱 (11 strokes). That is 11 strokes in total.
Is 脱 an HSK word?
Yes. 脱 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 脱 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 脱 is written 脫.
Can 脱 be used for taking off glasses or a watch?
Usually not. For accessories Chinese speakers say 摘 (zhāi), as in 摘眼镜 (zhāi yǎnjìng), to take off glasses. 脱 is mainly for clothes, shoes, socks and gloves.
What does 脱颖而出 literally mean?
It describes the tip of an awl poking out through a bag, so a talented person naturally stands out. It is used for someone who distinguishes themselves from a group, for example in a competition.