tóu
noun #29,669

Measure Word

Meanings

  1. 1 die; dice (singular)

Examples

Tā yáo le yáo tóu, zhì chū le yīgè liù.
He shook the die and rolled a six.
Tóuzi yóuxì zàishì jiè gèdì dōu hěn liúxíng.
Dice games are popular all around the world.

Tips

usage
is a rare standalone form; in practice you almost always see 骰子 (tóuzi), meaning dice. The character belongs to the (bone) radical — reflecting the ancient use of animal bones for dice.

Components

radical
bone
Left bone radical, the indexing element — pictograph of a skull and joint with the lower -shape (meat radical) attached. Marks as bone-made: traditional dice were carved from ox or sheep ankle bones long before ivory. Same family as , , — the skeletal cluster.
phonetic
shū
ancient pole-weapon (here phonetic)
Right supplies the sound, drifting shū → tóu through sibilant-to-dental shift. itself depicts a hand holding a bamboo club. Faint echo: dice are thrown with the hand, and the upper of mimes a flicking action. Same phonetic in throw — which preserves the tossing motion.

Stroke Order

tóu