捅 (tǒng) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

捅

tǒng[tong3]Tone 3

to poke, to jab, to disclose

HSK 7

Guru Deep Dive

English · to poke, to jab, to disclose

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:10

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (扌) should be compact and narrower, while the right component (甬) provides the wider structural base, keeping the overall character balanced on a vertical center axis.

1. Meaning

to poke or jab with a pointed object or finger

to give someone a nudge or prodto disclose or reveal a secret (expose a trouble)

VerbColloquial#physical action#communication#trouble

Sample Usage

他用手指捅了我一下。
tā yòng shǒuzhǐ tǒng le wǒ yīxià.
He poked me with his finger.
这件事被他捅出去了。
zhè jiàn shì bèi tā tǒng chūqù le.
This matter was leaked/exposed by him.

2. Sound

/[tʰʊŋ²¹⁴]/Tone: 214

捅

tǒngtong3

ˇ(214)

=tǒng

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

tong

Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "o" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).

Initial Consonant

Type: Aspirated Alveolar

Sounds like: t 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 front teeth, releasing a strong puff of air.

Final Rhyme

ong

Vowel Group: -o vowel group

Sounds like: -ong rhymes with rung

Mouth Shape Guide: Combine initial 'h-' (h) with final '-ong' (oong).

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

Tone

T3 (214)

2 → 1 → 4 (214)

3rd Tone (Low-Dipping)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 3 dips low and rises, similar to saying 'What?' in disbelief with a downward and upward inflection.

Sandhi: When followed by another 3rd tone syllable, tǒng changes to a 2nd tone (tóng) in rapid speech, e.g., 捅娄子 tóng lóuzi.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the 3rd tone dip with the 4th tone drop (-tong vs -tong), or missing the strong aspiration on the initial 't'.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Trace a checkmark in the air: dip down sharply from your chest and sweep up to shoulder height.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 10 strokes

4. Components

Radical 扌 · Hand Radical (Hand actions, touching, striking)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 扌 (Indicates actions performed with the hand or fingers (poking, jabbing))

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 甬 (original sound: yǒng / tǒng)

A hand (扌) reaches out to press or poke a tunnel-like passage (甬), representing the action of jabbing, poking, or stirring something up.

扌 Hand action
甬 Phonetic and structural clue for yǒng/tǒng

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

15· Phonetic Root: 甬 (yǒng)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from the hand radical (扌) showing physical action and 甬 (yǒng) providing the sound and a sense of a pathway or tube being pushed through.

Semantic Evolution: Originally referred to poking or piercing through an opening. Over time, it expanded metaphorically to mean giving a prod, stirring up trouble, or leaking/disclosing a hidden secret.

The phonetic component 甬 historically relates to paths, vessels, or bell shapes, which ties into the physical motion of thrusting into a cavity.

6. Sinosphere

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

You use your HAND (扌) to POKE (tǒng) someone through a tunnel PATHWAY (甬) to wake them up from a nap.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

甬

yǒngYong River 甬江[Yong3 Jiang1] in Ningbo 寧波|宁波[Ning2 bo1]; short name for NingboPhonetic Core (声旁)

通

tōngto go through+ 辶 (walking)

痛

tòngpain+ 疒 (sickness)

勇

yǒngbrave+ 力 (power)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

痛(tòng)

Has the illness radical (疒) on top instead of a hand (扌), meaning 'pain' rather than 'poke'.

桶(tǒng)

Has the wood radical (木) on top instead of a hand (扌), meaning 'bucket' or 'barrel'.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

别把这个秘密[___]出去。

Clue: tǒng

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing 捅 (tǒng - to poke) with 痛 (tòng - pain) because they sound very similar except for the tone and initial/radical difference.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What action does 捅 (tǒng) represent when performed with your finger or a stick?

Production: How do you write the character for 'to poke or disclose' (tǒng) using the hand radical?

捅tǒngto poke, to jab, to disclose

Speed:

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