鸵 (tuó): ostrich

Meanings

鸵鸟跑得很快，但不会飞。

Tuóniǎo pǎo de hěn kuài, dàn búhuì fēi.

Ostriches can run very fast but cannot fly.

别像鸵鸟一样把头埋进沙子里。

Bié xiàng tuóniǎo yíyàng bǎ tóu mái jìn shāzi lǐ.

Don't bury your head in the sand like an ostrich.

usage

Used in 鸵鸟 (ostrich). The phrase 鸵鸟心态 ('ostrich mentality') describes someone who hides from a problem instead of facing it.

radical

鸟 niǎo

bird

The bird radical marks this as a kind of bird, even though the ostrich is a giant flightless one.

phonetic

它 tā

it

Carries the sound: 它 shifts to tuó here, the same phonetic seen in 驼 (camel) and 陀.

鸵 tuó