托 (tuō) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

托

tuō[tuo1]Tone 1

to entrust

HSK 5

View Traditional FormSwitch to Traditional

託

Multiple Readings (多音字):

Guru Deep Dive

English · to entrust

Cached lesson

1 / 1

Topology:Left-right

Strokes:6

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (hand component) should be narrower and slightly higher, leaving ample room for the right phonetic component (sháo) to balance without crowding.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 託 uses 舌 (tongue) as the phonetic component, while the simplified form 托 uses 芍 (sháo) as a phonetic replacement to reduce stroke complexity.

1. Meaning

to entrust or rely upon

to hold in the palmto commissionto depend on

VerbNeutral#actions#social interaction#responsibility

Sample Usage

我把这件事托给你了。
Wǒ bǎ zhè jiàn shì tuō gěi nǐ le.
I entrust this matter to you.
托福，我最近过得很好。
Tuōfú, wǒ zuìjìn guò de hěn hǎo.
Thanks to you (literally: relying on your blessing), I've been doing very well lately.

2. Sound

/[tʰu̯ɔ˥˥]/Tone: 55

托

tuōtuo1

¯(55)

=tuō

Initial Consonant

Type: Aspirated Alveolar

Sounds like: t sound as in top

Aspirated

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

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip touches the alveolar ridge behind the upper teeth, releasing a sharp burst of air.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -o vowel group

Sounds like: u-oh sound (like the 'uo' in quota or woof)

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

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

Tone

T1 (55)

5 → 5 (55)

1st Tone (High-Flat)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 stays flat and high at the ceiling of your vocal range, matching a monotone 'ah?' of surprise.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the initial 't' with 'd'. Remember that 't' is heavily aspirated, whereas 'd' is unaspirated.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Tone 1 is a high, flat musical note, like holding a steady high pitch on a keyboard or singing a high 'la'.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 6 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (hand component) should be narrower and slightly higher, leaving ample room for the right phonetic component (sháo) to balance without crowding.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 託 uses 舌 (tongue) as the phonetic component, while the simplified form 托 uses 芍 (sháo) as a phonetic replacement to reduce stroke complexity.

4. Components

Radical 扌 · Hand radical (hand, manual actions)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 扌 (indicates an action performed with the hand or giving support)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 芍 (original sound: tuō / sháo phonetic family link)

A hand (扌) reaches out to hold up or support something entrusted to it (like a peony flower 芍).

扌 Hand component indicating physical or metaphorical support
芍 Provides the phonetic hint for the sound 'tuō'

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from the hand radical (扌) showing physical action and a phonetic sound element to represent handing over responsibility.

Semantic Evolution: Originally meant to support with the palm, it broadened to mean entrusting tasks, relying upon someone, or acting as a trustee.

The modern simplified character streamlines the phonetic portion for faster writing while keeping the hand radical intact.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: タク / Kun: 托.す

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

You use your **hand** (扌) to **entrust** a delicate peony flower (**tuō**) to a friend, asking them to hold it safely.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

托

tuōto entrustBase form with hand radical

芍

sháopeonyUses grass radical (艹) instead of hand radical

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

施(shī)

施 has a flag/family-style component on the right, whereas 托 has the 'sháo' component on the right.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

我把这件事[___]给你了，请帮我办好。

Clue: tuō

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the simplified phonetic right side with similar characters like 施 or 钩.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 托, what core meaning and pinyin come to mind?

Production: How do you write the character meaning 'to entrust' starting with the hand radical?

托tuōto entrust

Speed:

Searching YouTube for native pronunciation videos...

0 / 0