tào
measure word HSK 2 #819

Meanings

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

Examples

HSK 1
Wǒ mǎi le yí tào shū.
I bought a set of books.
HSK 1
Zhè tào fángzi hěn dà.
This apartment is very big.
HSK 2
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