诱 (yòu): to entice

Meanings

1 to entice
2 to lure
3 to induce
4 to tempt

Characters

诱

yòu

to entice; to lure

Examples

HSK 2

他用食物诱那只猫过来。

Tā yòng shíwù yòu nà zhī māo guòlái.

He lured the cat over with food.

HSK 3

不要被表面的好处所诱。

Bùyào bèi biǎomiàn de hǎochù suǒ yòu.

Don't be lured by superficial benefits.

Tips

usage

诱 is literary and usually appears in compounds like 诱惑 (tempt), 引诱 (lure), 诱导 (guide/induce). Rarely used standalone in modern speech.

Components

radical

讠 yán

speech (radical form)

Left speech radical (the side-form of 言) - the indexing radical. Marks 诱 as an act done with words: persuading, coaxing, baiting through talk. Same radical drives 说 to speak, 谎 to lie, 谋 to scheme, 谊 friendship - the whole vocabulary of verbal interaction.

phonetic

秀 xiù

refined; elegant

Right 秀 carries the sound, drifting from xiù to yòu in the x-/y- palatal series. The 'refined' sense adds a faint flavour fitting the meaning: enticement works by displaying something attractive. Same phonetic shows up in 锈 rust and 绣 to embroider, both unrelated in meaning.