斗 (dǒu): dipper; ladle (esp. long-handle…

Meanings

1 dipper; ladle (esp. long-handled grain measure)
2 decaliter; peck (dry measure, ten 升)
3 cup-shaped or dipper-shaped object
4 the Big Dipper (abbreviation for 北斗)

Characters

斗

dǒu

dipper; measure

Pictograph of a long-handled grain ladle, the standard ten-升 dry measure of ancient times.

Examples

爷爷有抽烟斗的习惯。

Yéye yǒu chōu yāndǒu de xíguàn.

Grandfather has a habit of smoking a pipe.

北斗七星在北边的天空容易辨认。

Běidǒu qīxīng zài běibiān de tiānkōng róngyì biànrèn.

The seven stars of the Big Dipper are easy to spot in the northern sky.

斗大的汗珠从他的额头滚落。

Dǒudà de hànzhū cóng tā de étóu gǔnluò.

Beads of sweat as big as peas rolled down his forehead.

Tips

history

The 斗 was historically the standard dry measure for grain — one 斗 equalled ten 升 and one-tenth of a 石 (a picul). The 北斗 (Big Dipper) got its name from this shape — seven stars forming a long-handled grain ladle in the northern sky.

mistakes

The character 斗 also serves as the simplified form of the unrelated 鬥 (to fight) — two completely different characters that the 1956 reform merged into one shape. When the meaning is dipper, measure, Big Dipper, or pipe-bowl shape, read dǒu; when it is fighting, struggling, competing, read dòu.

Components

pictograph

斗 dǒu

dipper; measuring ladle

Pictograph of a long-handled grain ladle (one 斗 ≈ ten 升). The two short top strokes are the grain piled in the scoop; the long downstroke is the handle. Filed as Kangxi radical 68, indexing scoop-like vessels and graded measures: 料 (material / to measure), 斜 (slanting — the angle of a tilted ladle), 斟 (to pour out a drink). The simplified character also doubles as the unrelated 鬥 (fight), giving it the second reading dòu.

Radical

Dipper Kangxi #68

Pictograph of a long-handled ladle used as a grain measure (one 斗 ≈ 10 升). As a radical it indexes scoop-like vessels and graded measures: 料 (material/measure), 斜 (slanting, the angle of a tilted ladle), 斟 (pour out a drink), 斡 (turn). The simplified character also writes the unrelated word 鬥 (fight).