Writing Balance Rule: The top component (大) must be broad and spread its arms evenly to canopy over the bottom component (寸).
Simplification Logic: The traditional form 奪 retains the ancient components; the simplified character 夺 uses the exact same structure without component alterations.
1. Meaning
To seize or take away forcibly
to wrest control ofto compete or strive forto force one's way throughto leave outto lose
VerbFormal / Literary#action#conflict#power
Sample Usage
他们赢得了比赛，夺得了冠军。
tāmen yíngdé le bǐsài, duódé le guànjūn.
They won the match and seized the championship.
时间不能被任何人夺走。
shíjiān bùnéng bèi rènhé rén duózǒu.
Time cannot be snatched away by anyone.
2. Sound
/[tu̯ɔ³⁵]/Tone: 35
奪
duóduo2
|
++
´(35)
=duó
Initial Consonant
d
Type: Unaspirated Alveolar
Sounds like: d sound like in English 'dog'
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: No puff of air. Tissue remains still (sounds like English 't' in 'stop').
Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip touches the alveolar ridge just behind the upper front teeth, releasing cleanly without a puff of air.
Final Rhyme
uo
Vowel Group: -o vowel group
Sounds like: -uo rhymes with 'wore' or 'war'
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'waw'.
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 rises from a mid pitch to a high pitch, identical to a questioning English interjection like 'Huh?' or 'What?'.
Sandhi: When followed by another Tone 2 syllable, the tone shifts to a higher rising contour.
👂
Listening trap: Confusing duó (Tone 2) with duò (Tone 4, dropped pitch) or duō (Tone 1, high level).
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: A quick upward head nod or hand sweep from low-left to high-right, mirroring a questioning upward pitch.
3. Writing
Topology: Top-bottom · Strokes: 6 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: The top component (大) must be broad and spread its arms evenly to canopy over the bottom component (寸).
Simplification Logic: The traditional form 奪 retains the ancient components; the simplified character 夺 uses the exact same structure without component alterations.
4. Components
Radical大 · Big Radical (big, person)
Semantic Clue (形旁):寸 (Hand / inch / control)
A big person (大) uses a hand/fingers (寸) to forcefully grab or snatch something away from under a roof or restraint.
大 Big person or shape
寸 Hand control or measurement
5. History
Liushu category: Compound ideogram (会意)
Origin: Originally depicted a bird escaping from a hand or someone seizing an animal/object, later stylized as a big person with a hand controlling an item.
Semantic Evolution: From the physical action of snatching or catching with the hands to abstract meanings like seizing victory, wresting control, or losing something.
In ancient texts, it frequently denoted capturing booty in warfare or seizing political power.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
đoạt
Matches the Vietnamese heavy tone (thặng/nặng dependent on historical strata, modern reading 'đoạt' uses the glottal stop stop-final).
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: ダツ (datsu) / Kun: 夺.う (ubau)
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
탈
Sound Shift Bridge: The initial 'd-' corresponds to Japanese 'd-' / 't-' and Sino-Vietnamese 'đ-'.
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story
A BIG person (大) uses their HAND (寸) to forcefully SEIZE and take away the prize!
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
脧
juīto shrink / narrowUses flesh radical instead of big.
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
奇(qí)
奇 means strange and has a 'kě' (可) bottom part, whereas 夺 has a 'cùn' (寸) hand at the bottom.
奈(nài)
奈 has a big top and a tree (木) bottom, while 夺 has a hand (寸) bottom.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
中國隊在這次奧運會上[___]了很多金牌。
Clue: duó dé
Common Learner Pitfall
Confusing the bottom component '寸' with '木' or '大', leading to malformed characters when writing by hand.
Memory Prompts
Recognition: What does the character 夺 mean when you see it in 夺冠 (winning a championship)?
Production: How do you write the verb meaning 'to seize or take away forcibly' with Pinyin duó?
Real-World Video Context
Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.
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奪duóto seize, to take away forcibly
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