淘 (táo): to wash (rice, sand)

Meanings

1 to wash (rice, sand)
2 to dredge
3 to hunt for bargains
4 naughty

Characters

淘

táo

to wash; to dredge; to hunt for

Examples

HSK 2

做饭前要先淘米。

Zuòfàn qián yào xiān táo mǐ.

You need to wash the rice before cooking.

HSK 2

这孩子真淘气。

Zhè háizi zhēn táoqì.

This kid is really naughty.

HSK 4

她喜欢在网上淘便宜货。

Tā xǐhuān zài wǎngshàng táo piányíhuò.

She likes to hunt for bargains online.

Tips

culture

淘宝 (Taobao), China's biggest online marketplace, literally means 'hunt for treasure' - 淘 (hunt for) + 宝 (treasure).

Components

radical

氵 shuǐ

water (radical form of 水)

Three-drops water radical on the left, the side form of 水. Indexes 淘 in the water-action family alongside 洗 to wash, 流 to flow, 浪 wave. Carries the meaning: 淘 originally meant to rinse rice or sift gold in flowing water, separating the wanted from the unwanted by current.

phonetic

匋 táo

pottery

Right side 匋 supplies the sound directly - táo to táo, identical. 匋 is the archaic graph for pottery, showing a person bent over a kiln; this same phonetic lives on inside 陶 pottery and 萄 grape. Borrowed for sound, though the bent-figure imagery faintly suits the squat-and-rinse motion of panning.