Sentence #1021006 from Tatoeba · translation adapted
How 读 is built
Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.
读dúto read out; to read aloud
讠speech form of 言 · yán
卖to sell · mài
Memory aidSpeech 讠 on the left, because reading was done aloud. In the full form 讀 the right-hand part gave the sound; it now looks like 賣 (mài) “to sell”, but was once a different part, read yù.
How to write 读
读 10 strokes
Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.
Stroke order chart for 读 (dú). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.
读 (dú) means “to read” or “to read out”. It is an HSK 1 word, so it is one of the words learners meet early.
Say it dú: dú with a 2nd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 读 is written 讀. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type du with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 读 from the suggestions. Typing du into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
读 is an HSK 1 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.
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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.
读dú2nd tone, rising
