涂

塗

tú

verb HSK 7 #2,956

Meanings

1 to smear
2 to apply
3 to spread on
4 to paint

Characters

to smear; to apply

Examples

她在脸上涂了防晒霜。

Tā zài liǎn shàng tú le fángshàishuāng.

She applied sunscreen on her face.

他把墙涂成白色。

Tā bǎ qiáng tú chéng báisè.

He painted the wall white.

Tips

usage

涂 is used for spreading or applying substances onto surfaces — paint, cream, butter, etc. For artistic painting, use 画.

memory

涂 has the water radical (氵) on the left — think of spreading a liquid substance onto something.

Stroke Order

涂 tú