tóu
noun #29,669

Measure Word

Meanings

  1. 1 die; dice (singular)

Examples

HSK 3
Tóuzi yóuxì zài shìjiè gèdì dōu hěn liúxíng.
Dice games are popular all around the world.
HSK 7-9
Tā yáo le yáo tóu, zhì chū le yīgè liù.
He shook the die and rolled a six.

Tips

usage
is a rare standalone form; in practice you almost always see 骰子 (tóuzi), meaning dice. The character belongs to the (bone) radical - reflecting the ancient use of animal bones for dice.

Components

radical
bone
Left bone radical, the indexing element - pictograph of a skull and joint with the lower -shape (meat radical) attached. Marks as bone-made: traditional dice were carved from ox or sheep ankle bones long before ivory. Same family as , , - the skeletal cluster.
phonetic
shū
ancient pole-weapon
Right supplies the sound, drifting shū to tóu through a sibilant-to-dental shift. itself depicts a hand holding a bamboo club. Faint echo: dice are thrown with the hand, and the upper of mimes a flicking action. Same phonetic in (throw), which preserves the tossing motion.

Stroke Order

tóu