涂改

塗改
túgǎi
verb #34,326

Meanings

  1. 1 to alter (text) by crossing out or painting over
  2. 2 to correct (with correction fluid)
  3. 3 to tamper with (a document)

Examples

Dátíkǎ bù néng túgǎi.
The answer sheet cannot be altered.
Tā zài hétóng shàng zuò le túgǎi.
He made alterations on the contract.

Tips

usage
Often appears in formal contexts where altering text is forbidden — exam answer sheets, legal documents, accounting books — and so 涂改 frequently has a faintly suspicious or rule-breaking flavor. The dedicated product 涂改 (túgǎiyè, correction fluid / White-Out) is built from this word.
memory
(tú, to smear / paint over) + (gǎi, to change). Literally 'paint-over and change' — exactly what you do with a pen stroke through a wrong word, or a dab of correction fluid.

Stroke Order

gǎi