读 meaning in English

dú

to read out; to read aloud; to read

HSK 1verbTraditional 讀10 strokes

Meaning of 读

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

dú

to read out; to read aloud
to read
to attend (school); to study (a subject in school)
to pronounce

dòu

comma
phrase marked by pause

How to use 读

读 is used for reading, especially reading aloud, and also for studying at a school or in a subject. You often see it in 读书 (dúshū) and 阅读 (yuèdú). Example: 我在北京读大学。(Wǒ zài Běijīng dú dàxué.) I go to university in Beijing.

读 (dú) has the speech radical 讠 on the left, so it is about words and speaking. Picture yourself speaking words out loud as you read, since the original sense is to read aloud.

Common mistake: Learners often mix up 读 (dú) with 卖 (mài, to sell), because the right side of 读 looks like 卖. Remember that 读 has the speech radical 讠 on the left and 卖 does not.

读 in example sentences

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

这zhè本běn书shū很hěn难nán在zài一yī周zhōu内nèi读dú完wán。

This book is really difficult to finish reading in a week.

我wǒ本běn来lái应yīng该gāi读dú一yī下xià这zhè本běn书shū。

Of course I should read this book.

我wǒ需xū要yào个gè可kě以yǐ读dú书shū的de地dì方fāng。

I need a place where I can study.

读dú书shū的de那nà个ge男nán孩hái子zi是shì约yuē翰hàn。

The boy reading a book is John.

我wǒ整zhěng个gè下xià午wǔ都dōu在zài读dú这zhè本běn书shū。

I have been reading the book all afternoon.

Stroke order for each character

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

读 dú · to read out · 10 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 读.

读书	dúshū	to read a book; to study
读音	dúyīn	pronunciation; literary (rather than colloquial) pronunciation of a Chinese character
读者	dúzhě	reader
阅读	yuèdú	to read
朗读	lǎngdú	to read aloud
解读	jiědú	to decipher; to decode
宣读	xuāndú	to read out loud to an audience; a prepared speech (e.g. to a party conference)
就读	jiùdú	to go to school
攻读	gōngdú	to major (in a field); to study a specialty to obtain a higher degree
默读	mòdú	to read in silence
在读	zàidú	to be studying (at a school or research institute)
读取	dúqǔ	(of a computer etc) to read (data)

Questions about 读

What does 读 mean?

读 (dú) means "to read out; to read aloud; to read" and is used as a verb.

How do you write 读?

读 is made of 1 character: 读 (10 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.

Is 读 an HSK word?

Yes. 读 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 读 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 读 is written 讀.

What is the difference between 读 and 看 for reading?

看 (kàn) usually means reading silently, like 看书 or 看报纸. 读 (dú) often suggests reading aloud or reading carefully, and it also means studying at school.

When is 读 pronounced dòu?

The reading dòu is rare and literary. It means a pause or comma in a sentence, as in the old term 句读 (jùdòu), punctuation. In everyday Chinese you will almost always say dú.