脱 (tuō) · to take off; to remove (clothing)

Meanings

1 to take off; to remove (clothing)
2 to shed; to come off
3 to escape; to break free

Characters

脱

tuō

to take off (clothes); to shed; to escape

Examples

HSK 3

进门前请脱鞋。

Jìnmén qián qǐng tuō xié.

Please take off your shoes before entering.

HSK 4

天太热了，他脱了外套。

Tiān tài rè le, tā tuō le wàitào.

It was too hot, so he took off his jacket.

HSK 6

蛇会脱皮。

Shé huì tuōpí.

Snakes shed their skin.

Tips

usage

脱 is the opposite of 穿 (to put on). 穿上 = put on, 脱下 = take off. These are the core clothing verbs in Chinese.

grammar

脱 often pairs with 下 or 掉: 脱下衣服 (take off clothes), 脱掉鞋子 (take off shoes). Both patterns are correct.

Components

radical

⺼ ròu

flesh; meat (radical form)

Left flesh radical (⺼, compound-position form of 肉) - visually identical to 月 'moon' but historically a stylized cut of meat. In 脱 the original sense was 'meat coming away from bone', generalized to taking off clothing or separating from a covering. Same radical heads 胸, 脏, 背, 脚.

phonetic

兑 duì

to exchange; trigram

Right 兑 supplies the sound (duì → tuō). 兑 is the I Ching trigram for marsh/joy and means 'to exchange'. The exchange imagery faintly fits - taking off clothing exchanges one state for another. Same phonetic in 说 (say), 锐 (sharp), 税 (tax).