躲 (duǒ) · to hide (oneself); to take cover

Meanings

1 to hide (oneself); to take cover
2 to dodge; to avoid; to evade

Characters

躲

duǒ

to hide; to avoid

Examples

HSK 2

快躲起来，他来了！

Kuài duǒ qǐlái, tā lái le!

Quick, hide! He's coming!

HSK 3

他在躲我，不接我电话。

Tā zài duǒ wǒ, bù jiē wǒ diànhuà.

He's avoiding me and won't answer my calls.

HSK 7-9

躲得了一时，躲不了一世。

Duǒ deliǎo yìshí, duǒ bù liǎo yīshì.

You can hide for a moment, but not forever.

Tips

usage

躲 covers both physical hiding (躲起来, hide yourself) and emotional avoidance (躲着某人, avoid someone). Compare with 藏 (to hide an object) and 避 (to avoid, more formal).

usage

The saying 躲得了一时，躲不了一世 (you can hide for now but not forever) is a common Chinese proverb meaning you cannot avoid problems indefinitely.

Components

radical

身 shēn

body

Left indexing body radical 身 - pictograph of a pregnant figure in profile, the swollen torso giving the meaning "body, self." Anchors 躲 in the body-action family alongside 躺 (lie down), 躯 (torso). To hide is to tuck the body out of sight; the body radical sets the meaning frame.

phonetic

朵 duǒ

cluster; flower-cluster (here phonetic)

Right 朵 supplies the sound (duǒ to duǒ, identical). 朵 itself depicts blossoms 几 hanging from a tree 木 - a cluster, a tucked-away bloom. The "tucked into a cluster" imagery lends a faint flavor matching "to hide oneself away." Pure phonetic match in modern reading.