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

快躲起来，他来了！

Kuài duǒ qǐlái, tā lái le!

Quick, hide! He's coming!

下雨了，我们找个地方躲一躲。

Xiàyǔ le, wǒmen zhǎo gè dìfang duǒ yī duǒ.

It's raining, let's find a place to take shelter.

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.

小孩躲在桌子下面。

Xiǎohái duǒ zài zhuōzi xiàmiàn.

The child is hiding under the table.

躲得了一时，躲不了一世。

Duǒ deliǎo yīshí, 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.