HanziGuru.掉 · diào
掉
diào[diao4]Tone 4

to fall, drop, shed, or lose

HSK 2
Guru Deep Dive

English · to fall, drop, shed, or lose

Cached lesson
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Topology:Left-right
Strokes:11
Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (fēng, hand component) should occupy about one-third of the width, leaving the remaining two-thirds balanced for the right phonetic component (zhōu). Keep the vertical strokes straight and steady.
1. Meaning

to fall or drop

to lag behindto lose or misplaceto reduce or decreaseto shed or cast offverbal suffix indicating completion, removal, or separation
VerbNeutral#motion#loss#state change
Sample Usage
  • 小心，别把手机掉地上了。
    xiǎoxīn, bié bǎ shǒujī diào dìshang le.
    Be careful, don't drop your phone on the ground.
  • 叶子在秋天会掉落。
    yèzi zài qiūtiān huì diàoluò.
    Leaves fall off in autumn.
2. Sound
/[ti̯ɑʊ̯⁵¹]/Tone: 51
掉
diàodiao4
++
`(51)
=diào
Initial Consonant
d
Type: Unaspirated Alveolar
Sounds like: d sound as 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 pressed lightly against the alveolar ridge behind the upper front teeth, ready to release.
Final Rhyme
iao
Vowel Group: -a vowel group
Sounds like: -iao rhymes roughly with 'ee-ow' or 'meow'
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'yow'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T4 (51)
4th Tone (High-Falling)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 starts high and drops sharply to the bottom, like a sudden exclamation of 'No!' or a heavy object dropping.
👂
Listening trap: Confusing the 4th falling tone (diào) with the 1st level tone (diāo) or 3rd dipping tone (diǎo).
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: A sharp, forceful downward karate chop from high to low, representing a sudden drop.
3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 11 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (fēng, hand component) should occupy about one-third of the width, leaving the remaining two-thirds balanced for the right phonetic component (zhōu). Keep the vertical strokes straight and steady.

4. Components

Radical 扌 · Hand radical (hand, manual action)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 扌 (indicates an action performed by or involving the hand/movement (dropping, casting off))

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 卓 (original sound: zhuó / diào)

A hand (扌) reaches up high or lets go of something towering over (卓), causing it to DROP down.

  • 扌 Hand component (left)
  • 卓 Towering / phonetics component (right)
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from the hand radical (扌) showing physical action and 卓 providing the sound, originally denoting the act of letting go or things falling.

Semantic Evolution: Expanded from physical dropping of objects to abstract losses (losing face, losing items), price drops, and as a directional/resultative verbal suffix indicating completion or separation.

  • The phonetic component 卓 originally depicted a tall banner fluttering high up, which tied into concepts of elevation and subsequent descending movement.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
trạo
Mandarin 4th tone corresponds somewhat to Vietnamese falling/heavy tones depending on historical phonetic developments.
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: チョウ (chō) / Kun: お.とる (o.toru)
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
조
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story

You use your HAND (扌) to catch a spinning plate, but it slips and you watch it DROP (diào) off the high TOWER (卓) straight to the floor!

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
桌
zhuōtableUses the wood radical (木) instead of hand (扌) for furniture.
焯
chāoto blanch (cook)Uses the fire radical (火) for quick scalding in boiling water.
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
调(tiáo / diào)
Has the speech/words radical (讠) instead of hand (扌), meaning to adjust, tune, or transfer.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
我的手机从口袋里[___]出来了。
Clue: diào
Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing 掉 (diào) with 丢 (diū, to lose), or forgetting that 掉 is frequently used as a verb complement to show completion or removal (e.g., 忘掉 wàngdiào - to forget completely).

Memory Prompts
Recognition: When you see the character 掉 with hand radical 扌 and phonetic 卓, what tone and primary meaning should come to mind?
Production: How do you write the character for 'to fall or drop' (diào) and what is its radical?
Real-World Video Context

Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.

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