tào
measure word HSK 2 #819

Meanings

  1. 1 set; suite
  2. 2 measure word for sets of things

Examples

Wǒ mǎi le yí tào shū.
I bought a set of books.
Zhè tào fángzi hěn dà.
This apartment is very big.
Tā yǒu yí tào zìjǐ de fāngfǎ.
He has his own set of methods.

Tips

grammar
is used as a measure word for sets, suites, and systems: 一套衣服 (a suit of clothes), 一套房子 (an apartment/flat), 一套办法 (a set of solutions).

Components

radical
big; person with outstretched arms
Top is the entry's indexing radical and pictures a person with arms spread wide. Sitting above (long) it hints at the wide-and-long covering being pulled on or laid over something, the original sense of to encase, sheathe, set.
semantic
cháng
long; tall (older form of 长)
Lower is an older graphic variant of long. Below the wide it doubles the long-and-spread imagery, reinforcing the meaning of a covering or set that wraps fully around its object: sleeves, harnesses, suites of furniture.

Stroke Order

tào