渡 (dù) · to cross (a river, sea); to ferry across

Meanings

1 to cross (a river, sea); to ferry across
2 to get through (a difficult time)

Characters

渡

dù

to cross (a river); to ferry

Examples

HSK 3

我们坐船渡过了这条河。

Wǒmen zuòchuán dùguò le zhè tiáo hé.

We crossed this river by boat.

HSK 3

渡船每小时一班。

Dùchuán měi xiǎoshí yī bān.

The ferry runs every hour.

HSK 7-9

他帮我渡过了难关。

Tā bāng wǒ dùguò le nánguān.

He helped me get through a difficult time.

Tips

usage

渡 (to cross water/difficulty) vs 度 (to spend time, degree). 渡过难关 (get through difficulty) uses 渡, while 度过假期 (spend a vacation) uses 度. Both pronounced dù.

memory

Water radical 氵 shows this is about crossing water. 度 without the water radical is about time and measurement.

Components

radical

氵 shuǐ

water

Water radical on the left - the standing form of 水 with three strokes. It supplies meaning: 渡 is fundamentally about crossing water - a ferry crossing, a river fording, a passage from one bank to the other. Same radical heads 河, 江, 湖, 海 and the broader water-feature family.

phonetic

度 dù

degree; to measure

度 (dù) supplies the sound exactly, no tone shift. It also lends a faint semantic flavour - 度 carries the sense of 'passing through' a measure or stage, which suits 渡's 'crossing over' (as in 渡过 to get through, 过渡 transition). Same phonetic stem in 镀 (plating).