韬 (tāo): bow case or scabbard, to hide

韬 (tāo) is a Chinese character meaning “bow case or scabbard.” Outside the HSK 3.0 syllabus (CLEC 2022), it is composed of 韦 (semantic) and 舀 (phonetic). It ranks #5334 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 韬 leather. Its radical form 韦 (soft leather) appears in many related characters such as 韩 (hán, Han, one of the Seven Hero States of the Warring States 戰國七雄|战国七雄), 韧 (rèn, annealed), 韦 (wéi, soft leather).

Spoken pronunciation

Radical: 韦 soft leather14 strokesFrequency #5334韦 semantic 舀 phonetic

Definitions

bow case or scabbard
to hide

Etymology & Origin

韬

pictophoneticleather

Decomposition: ⿰韦舀 (layout: left-right)

Components:韦semantic 舀phonetic

Stroke Order

Practice writing 韬 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
韬光养晦phrase	tāo guāng yǎng huì	to conceal one's strengths and bide one's time (idiom)
六韬三略	liù tāo sān lüè	"Six Secret Strategic Teachings" 六韜\|六韬 and "Three Strategies of Huang Shigong" 三略, two of the ...
六韬proper-noun	liù tāo	“Six Secret Strategic Teachings”, one of the Seven Military Classics of ancient China 武經七書\|武经七书, ...
龙韬	lóng tāo	military strategy and tactics
韬略noun	tāo lüè	military strategy
秦韬玉	qín tāo yù	Qin Taoyu, Tang poet, author of the poem "A Poor Woman" 貧女\|贫女
邹韬奋	zōu tāo fèn	Zou Taofen (1895-1944), journalist, political theorist and publisher

Total compounds

As first character

As last character

As middle character

韬 appears in 7 compound words: 29 as the first character, 29 as the last, and 43 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.

Idioms & Chengyu (2)

韬光养晦tāoguāngyǎnghuì

to hide one's talents, and bide one's time for the right opportunity

phrase

Showing 1 of 2 idioms containing 韬.

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

我在字典里查到了韬字的详细解释。

wǒ zài zì diǎn lǐ chá dào le tāo zì de xiáng xì jiě shì .

I looked up the detailed definition of the character "韬" in the dictionary.

中国新闻网·文化Aug 2026

马韬告诉记者，中文在线在深耕AI微短剧赛道的同时，正在加码真人微短剧业务布局。

mǎ tāo gào sù jì zhě , zhōng wén zài xiàn zài shēn gēng A I wēi duǎn jù sài dào de tóng shí , zhèng zài jiā mǎ zhēn rén wēi duǎn jù yè wù bù jú .

Ma Tao told reporters that while Chinese Online is focusing on the AI-powered micro-short drama sector, it is also expanding its presence in the live-action micro-short drama business.

中国新闻网·体育Jul 2026

第23分钟胡荷韬解围失误，内尔松·卢斯挑射破门，助西海岸取得领先。

dì 2 3 fēn zhōng hú hé tāo jiě wéi shī wù , nèi ěr sōng Lú sī tiāo shè pò mén , zhù xī hǎi àn qǔ dé lǐng xiān .

In the 23rd minute, Hu Hetao made a clearance error, allowing Nelsson Luz to chip the ball into the net and give West Coast the lead.

爱范儿Jul 2026

影片由崔景宣执导，凌潇肃、余男、郭晓东、吴若甫、程莉莎、王韬出演。

yǐng piàn yóu 崔 jǐng xuān zhí dǎo , líng xiāo sù , yú nán , guō xiǎo dōng , wú ruò fǔ , chéng lì 莎 , wáng tāo chū yǎn .

The film is directed by Cui Jingxuan and stars Ling Xiaosu, Yu Nan, Guo Xiaodong, Wu Ruofu, Cheng Lisha, and Wang Tao.

中時新聞網Apr 2026

...百川》建立九二共识台湾方案的急迫性(韦伯韬)

. . . bǎi chuān jiàn lì jiǔ èr gòng shí tái wān fāng àn de jí pò xìng ( Wéi bó tāo )

...The Urgency of Establishing the "100 Rivers" Proposal for the "1992 Consensus" in Taiwan (Wei Boqin)

The Beijing NewsApr 2026

...O新观察|IPO关键期遭索赔2500万:韬盛科技何去何从

. . . O xīn guàn chá I P O guān jiàn qī zāo suǒ péi 2 5 0 0 wàn : tāo shèng kē jì hé qù hé cóng

...O New Insights | Facing a $25 Million Lawsuit During a Critical IPO Phase: What Lies Ahead for Tensheng Technology?

Character Family

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 韬 (tāo) mean in Chinese?

韬 (tāo) primarily means "bow case or scabbard." It is not part of the HSK 3.0 syllabus. It ranks #5334 in character frequency.

What's the difference between 韬 and 蹈?

韬 (tāo) and 蹈 (dǎo) are often confused. confusable. The key distinguishing feature: 韦 vs 足 (same 舀 component).

How many strokes does 韬 have?

韬 is written with 14 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 韬?

The radical associated with 韬 is 韦 (soft leather). This radical appears in many characters related to soft leather.

What are the components of 韬?

韬 is composed of: 韦 (semantic), 舀 (phonetic). Its IDS decomposition is ⿰韦舀 with a left-right layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.

What are common words containing 韬?

Common words with 韬 include: 韬光养晦 (tāo guāng yǎng huì, "to conceal one's strengths and bide one's time (idiom)"); 六韬三略 (liù tāo sān lüè, ""Six Secret Strategic Teachings" 六韜|六韬 and "Three Strategies of Huang Shigong" 三略, two of the ..."); 六韬 (liù tāo, "“Six Secret Strategic Teachings”, one of the Seven Military Classics of ancient China 武經七書|武经七书, ..."); 龙韬 (lóng tāo, "military strategy and tactics"); 韬略 (tāo lüè, "military strategy"). There are over 7 compound words containing this character.

What characters sound the same as 韬 (tāo)?

Several characters share the pronunciation tāo: 滔 ((bound form) to inundate). Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.

Is 韬 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?

No. The simplified form is 韬 and the traditional form is 韜.

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