斗 (dǒu): dipper; ladle (esp. long-handle…

Meanings

1 dipper; ladle (esp. long-handled grain measure)
2 decaliter; peck (dry measure, ten 升)
3 cup-shaped or dipper-shaped object
4 the Big Dipper (abbreviation for 北斗)

Characters

斗

dǒu

dipper; measure

Pictograph of a long-handled grain ladle, the standard ten-升 dry measure of ancient times.

Examples

HSK 4

爷爷有抽烟斗的习惯。

Yéye yǒu chōu yāndǒu de xíguàn.

Grandfather has a habit of smoking a pipe.

HSK 7-9

北斗七星在北边的天空容易辨认。

Běidǒu qīxīng zài běibiān de tiānkōng róngyì biànrèn.

The seven stars of the Big Dipper are easy to spot in the northern sky.

HSK 7-9

斗大的汗珠从他的额头滚落。

Dǒudà de hànzhū cóng tā de étóu gǔnluò.

Beads of sweat as big as peas rolled down his forehead.

Tips

history

The 斗 was historically the standard dry measure for grain - one 斗 equalled ten 升 and one-tenth of a 石 (a picul). The 北斗 (Big Dipper) got its name from this shape - seven stars forming a long-handled grain ladle in the northern sky.

mistakes

The character 斗 also serves as the simplified form of the unrelated 鬥 (to fight) - two completely different characters that the 1956 reform merged into one shape. When the meaning is dipper, measure, Big Dipper, or pipe-bowl shape, read dǒu; when it is fighting, struggling, competing, read dòu.

Components

pictograph

斗 dǒu

dipper; measuring ladle

Pictograph of a long-handled grain ladle (one 斗 ≈ ten 升). The two short top strokes are the grain piled in the scoop; the long downstroke is the handle. Filed as Kangxi radical 68, indexing scoop-like vessels and graded measures: 料 (material / to measure), 斜 (slanting - the angle of a tilted ladle), 斟 (to pour out a drink). The simplified character also doubles as the unrelated 鬥 (fight), giving it the second reading dòu.

Radical

Dipper Kangxi #68

Pictograph of a long-handled ladle used as a grain measure (one 斗 ≈ 10 升). As a radical it indexes scoop-like vessels and graded measures: 料 (material/measure), 斜 (slanting, the angle of a tilted ladle), 斟 (pour out a drink), 斡 (turn). The simplified character also writes the unrelated word 鬥 (fight).