套 (tào): to cover, to encase, cover
套 (tào) is a Chinese character meaning “to cover.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 大 (structural) and 镸 (structural). It ranks #1090 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 套 a man 大 wrapped in a long 镸 cloth . Its radical form 大 (big) appears in many related characters such as 大 (dà, big), 天 (tiān, day), 太 (tài, highest).
Definitions
- to cover
- to encase
- cover
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA man 大 wrapped in a long 镸 cloth
Decomposition: ⿱大镸 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 套 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 套
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 外套noun | wài tào | outer garment | 4 |
| 手套noun | shǒu tào | glove | 5 |
| 套餐noun | tào cān | set meal | 6 |
| 配套verb | pèi tào | to form a complete set | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 圈套 | quān tào | trap |
| 套房 | tào fáng | small room opening off another |
| 避孕套 | bì yùn tào | condom |
| 套装 | tào zhuāng | outfit or suit (of clothes) |
| 乱套 | luàn tào | in a mess |
| 套间 | tào jiān | vestibule |
| 整套 | zhěng tào | entire set |
| 套路 | tào lù | sequence of movements in martial arts |
| 套套 | tào tao | methods |
| 套子 | tào zi | sheath |
| 俗套 | sú tào | conventional patterns |
| 全套 | quán tào | complete set |
| 套索 | tào suǒ | a lasso |
| 老一套 | lǎo yī tào | the same old stuff |
| 跑龙套 | pǎo lóng tào | to play a small role |
套 appears in 100 compound words: 48 as the first character, 48 as the last, and 4 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 套 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (1)
Example Sentences
这套房子有三间卧室，很适合我们全家居住。
Zhè tào fángzi yǒu sān jiān wòshì, hěn shìhé wǒmen quán jiā jūzhù.
This apartment has three bedrooms, very suitable for our whole family to live in.
26歲女優邀粉絲「無套性愛」千人斬挑戰! 他臨上陣女友突來電
歲 nǚ 優 yāo fěn 絲 無 tào xìng 愛 qiān rén 斬 tiāo 戰 ! tā 臨 shàng 陣 nǚ yǒu tū 來 電
26-Year-Old Actress Invites Fans to Join Her 'No-Condom Sex' Challenge to Sleep with 1,000 Men! Just Before He Was About to Go Through with It, His Girlfriend Suddenly Called
...搭捷運「大腿被蹭10秒」 低頭見癡漢露鳥套弄
. . . dā jié 運 dà tuǐ bèi cèng miǎo dī 頭 見 癡 漢 lù 鳥 tào nòng
...On the subway, "my thigh was rubbed for 10 seconds." I looked down to see a pervert exposing himself and masturbating.
麥當勞2.23起推全新人氣著數套餐 脆辣雞腿飽餐首次加入 黃澤林首拍「老...
麥 當 勞 . qǐ tuī quán xīn rén 氣 zhù 數 tào cān cuì là 雞 tuǐ 飽 cān shǒu cì jiā rù 黃 澤 lín shǒu pāi lǎo . . .
McDonald's Launches New Popular Set Meal from 2.23 onwards Crispy Spicy Chicken Thigh Meal for the First Time Wong Chak Lin's first "Old...
「滶晨II」馬年首周末沽2伙 套現近2700萬元
滶 chén 馬 nián shǒu zhōu mò gū huǒ tào 現 jìn 萬 yuán
"Sold 2 units in the first weekend of the Year of the Horse, realizing nearly $27 million.
...Y」今日以1486.5萬元售出一個3房1套單位
. . . jīn rì yǐ . 萬 yuán shòu chū yī 個 fáng tào 單 wèi
... ...Y" sold a 3-room 1-unit flat for $14.865 million today.
今年流行什么款式的外套？
Jīnnián liúxíng shénme kuǎnshì de wàitào?
What sort of coats are in fashion this year?
这外套是什么材料作的？
Zhè wàitào shì shénme cáiliào zuò de?
What stuff is this jacket made of?
我可以试穿这件外套吗？
Wǒ kěyǐ shìchuān zhè jiàn wàitào ma?
Can I try on this jacket?
你有不同颜色的外套吗？
Nǐ yǒu bù tóng yánsè de wàitào ma?
Do you have this jacket in different colors?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 套 (tào)?
Is 套 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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