投 (tóu): to throw, to invest
投 (tóu) is a Chinese character meaning “to throw, to invest.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 扌 (semantic) and 殳 (phonetic). It ranks #516 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 投 hand. Its radical form 扌 (hand) appears in many related characters such as 手 (shǒu, hand), 打 (dǎ, hit, make), 找 (zhǎo, to look for).
Definitions
- to throw, to invest
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 投 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 投
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 投票verb | tóu piào | to vote | 6 |
| 投资verb/noun | tóu zī | investment | 6 |
| 投入verb/adjective/noun | tóu rù | to throw into | 5 |
| 投诉verb | tóu sù | to lodge a complaint | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 投降 | tóu xiáng | to surrender |
| 投手 | tóu shǒu | thrower |
| 投篮 | tóu lán | to shoot for the basket (basketball) |
| 投资者 | tóu zī zhě | investor |
| 投稿 | tóu gǎo | to submit articles for publication |
| 投放 | tóu fàng | to input |
| 投资人 | tóu zī rén | investor |
| 投靠 | tóu kào | to rely on help from sb |
| 投身 | tóu shēn | to throw oneself into sth |
| 投标 | tóu biāo | to bid |
| 投掷 | tóu zhì | to throw sth a long distance |
| 投机 | tóu jī | congenial |
| 投保 | tóu bǎo | to take out insurance |
| 投票权 | tóu piào quán | suffrage |
| 投胎 | tóu tāi | to be reincarnated |
投 appears in 100 compound words: 74 as the first character, 10 as the last, and 16 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 投 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (15)
to share common bad interests and tastes and get along; to share common interests and aspirations and get along
(idiom) not on the same wavelength; unable to have a congenial conversation; to not see eye to eye
to forsake darkness and come to the light; to forsake darkness for light; to turn over a new leaf
to engage in speculation and profiteering, especially when against the law in a planned economy
to share common bad interests and tastes and get along; to share common interests and aspirations and get along
(idiom) not on the same wavelength; unable to have a congenial conversation; to not see eye to eye
to forsake darkness and come to the light; to forsake darkness for light; to turn over a new leaf
to engage in speculation and profiteering, especially when against the law in a planned economy
Showing 12 of 15 idioms containing 投.
Example Sentences
公司计划投资五千万建设新的生产基地。
Gōngsī jìhuà tóuzī wǔqiān wàn jiànshè xīn de shēngchǎn jīdì.
The company plans to invest fifty million to build a new production base.
春节不打烊,广州交投集团中欧班列预计发运9列、货值..
chūn jié bù dǎ 烊 , guǎng zhōu jiāo tóu jí tuán zhōng ōu bān liè yù jì fā yùn liè huò zhí . .
The Spring Festival is not closed, Guangzhou Jiaotou Group is expected to ship 9 trains, the value of ...
被抓现行!菲律宾海警在南海投放不明物体
bèi zhuā xiàn háng ! 菲 lǜ bīn hǎi jǐng zài nán hǎi tóu fàng bù míng wù tī
Caught in the act! Philippine Maritime Police Drop Unidentified Objects in South China Sea
...音高管谈Seedance2.0:最近团队投入最多..
. . . yīn gāo guǎn tán . zuì jìn tuán duì tóu rù zuì duō . .
Pitch Manager on Seedance 2.0: The team has been dedicating the most effort to this recently...
菲律宾海警在南海投放不明物体
菲 lǜ bīn hǎi jǐng zài nán hǎi tóu fàng bù míng wù tī
Philippine Coast Guard deploys unidentified objects in the South China Sea
菲律宾海警在南海投放不明物体被抓现行,监控画面公布
菲 lǜ bīn hǎi jǐng zài nán hǎi tóu fàng bù míng wù tī bèi zhuā xiàn háng , jiān kòng huà miàn gōng bù
Philippine Coast Guard caught red-handed deploying unidentified objects in South China Sea; surveillance footage released
警方将催泪弹投掷到了建筑中。
Jǐngfāng jiāng cuīlèidàn tóuzhì dào le jiànzhù zhōng.
The cops threw tear-gas bombs into the building.
圣诞节当天邮局休息，邮件将不予投递。
Shèngdànjié dāngtiān yóujú xiūxi, yóujiàn jiāng bù yú tóudì.
The post office is closed on Christmas day and mail will not be delivered.
谁来为风险投资提供资金？
Shéi lái wèi fēngxiǎn tóuzī tígōng zījīn?
Who will provide capital for the venture?
我们要向这个怪兽投降吗？
Wǒmen yào xiàng zhège guàishòu tóuxiáng ma?
Are we going to surrender to these monsters?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 投 (tóu) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 投 and 设?
How many strokes does 投 have?
What is the radical of 投?
What are the components of 投?
What are common words containing 投?
What characters sound the same as 投 (tóu)?
Is 投 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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