Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (hand) is slightly narrower and compressed, leaving ample room for the right phonetic component to maintain structural equilibrium.
1. Meaning
to throw or cast in a specific direction
to cast a ballot or voteto invest or put money intoto send a letter or manuscriptto throw oneself into (e.g. water to commit suicide or join a cause)
VerbNeutral#actions#movement#sports#finance
Sample Usage
请把垃圾投进垃圾桶。
Qǐng bǎ lājī tóu jìn lājītǒng.
Please throw the trash into the garbage can.
我要去投 票。
Wǒ yào qù tóupiào.
I am going to cast a vote.
2. Sound
/[tʰoʊ̯³⁵]/Tone: 35
投
tóutou2
|
++
´(35)
=tóu
Initial Consonant
t
Type: Aspirated Alveolar
Sounds like: t sound
Aspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: Explosive puff of breath! Tissue held before mouth MUST flutter.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip pressed firmly against the back of the upper front teeth, releasing a strong puff of air.
Final Rhyme
ou
Vowel Group: -o vowel group
Sounds like: -ou rhymes with oh
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'oh'.
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 medium to high pitch, identical to asking a surprised 'What?' in English.
Sandhi: When followed by another Tone 2, the first tone shifts to a mid-high rising pitch.
👂
Listening trap: Confusing it with Tone 4 (tòu), which drops sharply instead of rising.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: A quick hand flick upward, like tossing a ball high into the air.
3. Writing
Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 7 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (hand) is slightly narrower and compressed, leaving ample room for the right phonetic component to maintain structural equilibrium.
4. Components
Radical扌 · Hand radical (hand, manual action)
Semantic Clue (形旁):扌 (indicates an action performed with the hand (throwing))
Phonetic Clue (声旁):殳 (original sound: shū)
A hand (扌) reaches out to wield or fling a weapon/tool (殳), meaning to throw or cast.
扌 hand
殳 weapon or spear shaft component providing phonetic cue
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
9· Phonetic Root: 殳 (shū)
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)
Origin: Originally combined the hand radical (扌) showing physical action and a weapon or staff (殳) representing what is wielded or cast forward.
Semantic Evolution: Shifted from the physical casting of weapons or objects to abstract casting, such as casting ballots, investing money, or sending letters.
The right component 殳 historically depicted a hand holding a weapon or striking tool.
6. Sinosphere
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: トウ / Kun: 投.げる
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
투
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story
You use your HAND (扌) to THROW a spear or ballot into a box.
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
没
mòto drown, to disappearWater (氵) instead of hand (扌) means water submerges things.
设
shèto set up, designSpeech (讠) instead of hand means planning or designing with words.
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
没(mò)
Check the left side: 扌 is for throwing with the hand (tóu), while 氵 is for water and drowning (mò).
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
请把这个球[___]给我。
Clue: tóu
Common Learner Pitfall
Confusing the hand radical on the left with the water radical (氵), leading to mixing up tóu (throw) with mò (drown/disappear).
Memory Prompts
Recognition: What action does 投 represent when you see it combined with a ball or vote?
Production: How do you write the character for 'to throw' (tóu) using the hand radical?
Real-World Video Context
Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.
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投tóuto throw, cast, pitch
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