陶 (táo): pottery, pleased

陶 (táo) is a Chinese character meaning “pottery.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 阝 (structural) and 匋 (structural). It ranks #1590 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 陶 a mound 阝 of clay 匋; 匋 also provides the pronunciation. Its radical form 阝 (mound) appears in many related characters such as 那 (nà, (specifier) that), 都 (dōu, all), 院 (yuàn, courtyard).

Spoken pronunciation

HSK 7-9 Radical: 阝 mound10 strokesFrequency #1590阝 structural 匋 structural

Definitions

pottery
pleased

Etymology & Origin

陶

ideographicA mound 阝 of clay 匋; 匋 also provides the pronunciation

Decomposition: ⿰阝匋 (layout: left-right)

Components:阝structural 匋structural

Stroke Order

Practice writing 陶 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.

Words & Compounds

Common Compounds

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
陶醉verb	táo zuì	to be infatuated with
陶瓷noun	táo cí	pottery and porcelain
立陶宛proper-noun	lì táo wǎn	Lithuania
陶器noun	táo qì	pottery
陶艺noun	táo yì	ceramic art
自我陶醉	zì wǒ táo zuì	self-satisfied
立陶宛人noun	lì táo wǎn rén	Lithuanian (person)
陶土noun	táo tǔ	potter's clay
熏陶verb	xūn táo	to seep in
乐陶陶adjective	lè táo táo	joyful
陶俑noun	táo yǒng	a pottery figurine buried with the dead
陶冶verb	táo yě	lit. to fire pots and smelt metal
制陶工人	zhì táo gōng rén	potter
陶行知	táo xíng zhī	Tao Xingzhi (1891-1946), Chinese educator and reformer
定陶区	dìng táo qū	Dingtao, a district of Heze City 菏澤市\|菏泽市, Shandong

Total compounds

As first character

As last character

As middle character

陶 appears in 46 compound words: 48 as the first character, 22 as the last, and 30 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.

Strongest Collocations

Characters that most frequently co-occur with 陶 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.

瓷cí

0.74710,960 co-occurrences

烯xī

0.73110 co-occurrences

猩xīng

0.69610 co-occurrences

熏xūn

0.549804 co-occurrences

侃kǎn

0.5351,030 co-occurrences

立lì

0.49424,378 co-occurrences

罐guàn

0.4871,030 co-occurrences

墨mò

0.47710 co-occurrences

器qì

0.4679,532 co-occurrences

块kuài

0.44911 co-occurrences

Idioms & Chengyu (2)

自我陶醉zì wǒ táo zuìHSK 7+

self-satisfied; self-imbued; narcissistic

phrase

Showing 1 of 2 idioms containing 陶.

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

学习陶字需要反复练习，才能写得工整。

xué xí táo zì xū yāo fǎn fù liàn xí , cái néng xiě dé gōng zhěng .

Mastering the character "陶" requires repeated practice to achieve neatness.

Hk01.comMar 2026

新界北行山|登大石磨落马草垄打卡麦景陶碉堡边境道路再上蛇岭

xīn jiè běi háng shān dēng dà shí mó luò mǎ cǎo lǒng dǎ kǎ mài jǐng táo 碉 bǎo biān jìng dào lù zài shàng shé lǐng

Hiking in the Northern New Territories | Climb Da Shi Mo and Luo Ma Cao Long to Visit the Mak King To Bunker; Continue Along the Border Road to She Ling

It之家Mar 2026

... 上架:搭 2800W 石墨烯 PTC 陶瓷制热模块、双直流变频电机,首发价 70...

. . . shàng jià : dā 2 8 0 0 W shí mò 烯 P T C táo cí zhì rè mó kuài , shuāng zhí liú biàn pín diàn jī , shǒu fā jià 7 0 . . .

... Now available: Featuring a 2800W graphene PTC ceramic heating module and dual DC brushless motors, launch price 70...

It之家Mar 2026

“迄今最坚韧”康宁大猩猩玻璃陶瓷 3 发布:超 2 米高度跌落混凝土表...

qì jīn zuì jiān rèn kāng nìng dà xīng xīng bō lí táo cí 3 fā bù : chāo 2 mǐ gāo dù diē luò hùn níng tǔ biǎo . . .

"The Toughest Yet": Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic 3 Unveiled: Survives a Drop onto Concrete from Over 2 Meters...

StheadlineFeb 2026

星岛申诉王|陶艺×国安教育从“家”字作品寓意香港是我...

xīng dǎo shēn sù wáng táo yì guó ān jiào yù cóng jiā zì zuò pǐn yù yì xiāng gǎng shì wǒ . . .

Sing Tao Appeal King|Pottery × National Security Education From the word "home" works to imply that Hong Kong is me...

Vietnam+Feb 2026

钵场陶瓷里的越南气魄

钵 chǎng táo cí lǐ de yuè nán qì pò

The Vietnamese spirit in bowl ceramics

Tatoeba

我对東方陶瓷有兴趣。

Wǒ duì dōngfāng táocí yǒuxìngqù.

I'm interested in oriental pottery.

Tatoeba

她陶醉在幸福里。

Tā táozuì zài xìngfú lǐ.

She is drunk with happiness.

Character Family

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 陶 (táo) mean in Chinese?

陶 (táo) primarily means "pottery." It is classified as HSK Level 7-9, making it an expert-level character. It ranks #1590 in character frequency.

How many strokes does 陶 have?

陶 is written with 10 strokes. The correct stroke order matters for recognition and handwriting speed — practice with the animated guide above to build proper technique.

What is the radical of 陶?

The radical associated with 陶 is 阝 (mound). This radical appears in many characters related to mound.

What are the components of 陶?

陶 is composed of: 阝 (structural), 匋 (structural). Its IDS decomposition is ⿰阝匋 with a left-right layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.

What are common words containing 陶?

Common words with 陶 include: 陶醉 (táo zuì, "to be infatuated with"); 陶瓷 (táo cí, "pottery and porcelain"); 立陶宛 (lì táo wǎn, "Lithuania"); 陶器 (táo qì, "pottery"); 陶艺 (táo yì, "ceramic art"). There are over 46 compound words containing this character.

What characters sound the same as 陶 (táo)?

Several characters share the pronunciation táo: 讨 (to discuss), 逃 (to escape), 套 (to cover), 桃 (peach), and 5 more. Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.

Is 陶 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?

Yes, 陶 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 陶 with real-time feedback

Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play