圖 (tú) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

圖

tú[tu2]Tone 2

diagram, picture, drawing, map, to plan

HSK 1

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图

Guru Deep Dive

English · diagram, picture, drawing, map, to plan

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Topology:Full enclosure

Strokes:8

Writing Balance Rule: The outer border (囗) must be drawn wide and square first, leaving enough interior space so that the complex internal components do not crowd the walls.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form (圖) contains a complex internal phonetic component (畾), which was simplified in the modern character (图) by replacing it inside the enclosure with the simpler element 冬 (winter).

1. Meaning

picture, drawing, map, or diagram

to plan or schemeto attempt or pursue

Noun / VerbNeutral#art#cartography#action#planning

Sample Usage

请看这幅地图。
Qǐng kàn zhè fú dìtú.
Please look at this map.
他正在图谋大事。
Tā zhèngzài túmóu dàshì.
He is plotting a major undertaking.

2. Sound

/[tʰu³⁵]/Tone: 35

圖

tútu2

´(35)

=tú

Initial Consonant

Type: Aspirated Alveolar

Sounds like: t like in 'tea'

Aspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Explosive puff of breath! Tissue held before mouth MUST flutter.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip pressed firmly against the alveolar ridge behind the upper front teeth, releasing a clear puff of air.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -u vowel group

Sounds like: -u rhymes with oo in 'too'

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'oo'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T2 (35)

3 → 5 (35)

2nd Tone (Mid-Rising)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 2 starts mid and rises sharply to high, matching an incredulous English 'What?' or 'Really?'.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing Tone 2 (rising 35) with Tone 4 (falling 51), which turns 'map' (tú) into something else entirely.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Tone 2 rises like a question mark or a shrug upward. Move your hand diagonally up from left to right.

3. Writing

Topology: Full enclosure · Strokes: 8 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The outer border (囗) must be drawn wide and square first, leaving enough interior space so that the complex internal components do not crowd the walls.

4. Components

Radical 囗 · Enclosure Radical (border, enclosure, boundary)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 囗 (Represents the outer boundary or frame of a map or picture.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 冬 (original sound: tu)

Picture an outer boundary fence (囗) enclosing winter preparations or a frozen layout (冬), representing a sketched map or master plan.

囗 Enclosure, frame, map border
冬 Phonetic and design clue inside the border

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally depicted a region or territory within borders (囗) along with geographic markings to signify a map or territory plan.

Semantic Evolution: From a physical map or drawing of boundaries to any diagram, picture, or chart, and further extended to the verb meaning 'to plan' or 'to scheme'.

Ancient maps were heavily tied to administrative planning and military strategy in Chinese history.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: ト (to), 図 (zu) / Kun: えが.く (egaku)

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

도

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

You look at a MAP (图) inside a picture frame (囗), planning your route for the cold WINTER (冬).

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

途

túroad, wayAdd the walking radical (辶) to mean a road or journey on a map.

涂

túto smear, to applyAdd the water radical (氵) to mean smearing mud or paint.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

因(yīn)

因 has a big (大) inside the box, meaning 'cause/reason', whereas 图 has components for a map/drawing inside.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

請幫我畫一張去公司的[___]。

Clue: tú

Common Learner Pitfall

Forgetting to draw the outer enclosing box (囗) last or closing it prematurely before finishing the internal components.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does the character 图 mean when seen in compound words like 地图 (dìtú)?

Production: How do you write the character for 'map/picture' (tú) using the enclosure radical?

圖túdiagram, picture, drawing, map, to plan

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