偷 (tōu): to steal

Meanings

Yǒu rén tōu le wǒ de shǒujī.

Someone stole my phone.

Xiǎo māo tōu chī le zhuō shàng de yú.

The kitten secretly ate the fish on the table.

Tā tōutōu de kàn le tā yī yǎn.

He stealthily glanced at her.

usage

偷 can be 'to steal' (偷东西) or 'secretly' as an adverb (偷看 = to peek, 偷听 = to eavesdrop, 偷笑 = to laugh secretly).

culture

偷鸡不成蚀把米 (tōu jī bù chéng shí bǎ mǐ) — 'Failed to steal a chicken and lost the rice used as bait.' Means a scheme that backfires.

偷 tōu