透 meaning in English
(bound form) to penetrate; to seep through; to tell secretly; to leak
Meaning of 透
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- (bound form) to penetrate; to seep through
- to tell secretly; to leak
- thoroughly; through and through
- to appear; to show
How to use 透
透 often follows a verb or adjective to mean "completely" or "thoroughly", as in 湿透 (shītòu, soaked through) or 看透 (kàntòu, to see through). It also appears in common words like 透明 (tòumíng, transparent) and 透过 (tòuguò, through). Example: 我全身都湿透了。(Wǒ quánshēn dōu shītòu le.) I am soaked through.
透 (tòu) has the walking radical 辶 at the bottom left, so picture something moving all the way through until it comes out the other side. That journey through and through is the core meaning of 透.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes confuse 透 with 秀 (xiù), since 秀 is the part inside 透, and forget the 辶 radical or read 透 as xiù. Remember that 透 is fourth tone tòu and always has the 辶 base.
透 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.
透 tòu · to penetrate · 10 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 透.
| 透明 | tòumíng | transparent; (fig.) transparent; open to scrutiny |
| 透露 | tòulù | to leak out; to divulge |
| 透过 | tòuguò | to pass through; to penetrate; by means of; via |
| 渗透 | shèntòu | (lit. and fig.) to permeate; to seep into |
| 透支 | tòuzhī | (banking) to overdraw; to take out an overdraft |
| 透彻 | tòuchè | penetrating; thorough; incisive |
| 透气 | tòuqì | to flow freely (of air); to ventilate |
| 湿透 | shītòu | drenched; wet through |
| 看透 | kàntòu | to understand thoroughly; to see beyond the facade |
| 穿透 | chuāntòu | to penetrate |
| 烂透 | làntòu | rotten to the core |
| 透顶 | tòudǐng | out-and-out; thoroughly |
Questions about 透
What does 透 mean?
透 (tòu) means "(bound form) to penetrate; to seep through; to tell secretly; to leak" and is used as a verb and adjective.
How do you write 透?
透 is made of 1 character: 透 (10 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.
Is 透 an HSK word?
Yes. 透 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 透了 mean after an adjective, like 坏透了?
Adding 透了 to an adjective means "extremely" or "to the core", usually with a negative feeling. 坏透了 (huài tòu le) means "utterly rotten", and 糟透了 (zāo tòu le) means "terrible".
What is the difference between 透过 and 通过?
透过 (tòuguò) stresses passing physically through something, like light through a window: 透过窗户 (tòuguò chuānghu). 通过 (tōngguò) is broader and also means "to pass" an exam or law, or "by means of" in general.