透 (tòu): penetrate, thorough
透 (tòu) is a Chinese character meaning “penetrate, thorough.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 辶 (semantic) and 秀 (phonetic). It ranks #1076 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 透 walk. Its radical form 辶 (walk) appears in many related characters such as 边 (biān, side), 过 (guò, to pass, past), 还 (hái, still, return).
Definitions
- penetrate, thorough
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 透 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 透
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 透露verb | tòu lù | to leak out | 6 |
| 透过verb | tòu guò | to pass through | 6 |
| 透明adjective | tòu míng | transparent | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 透顶 | tòu dǐng | out-and-out |
| 透气 | tòu qì | to flow freely (of air) |
| 渗透 | shèn tòu | (lit. and fig.) to permeate |
| 看透 | kàn tòu | to understand thoroughly |
| 穿透 | chuān tòu | to penetrate |
| 透视 | tòu shì | (drawing and painting) perspective |
| 透支 | tòu zhī | (banking) to overdraw |
| 透彻 | tòu chè | penetrating |
| 透漏 | tòu lòu | to divulge |
| 熟透 | shú tòu | completely ripe |
| 透风 | tòu fēng | to let air pass through |
| 浸透 | jìn tòu | to soak |
| 透镜 | tòu jìng | lens (optics) |
| 透明度 | tòu míng dù | transparency |
| 透明胶 | tòu míng jiāo | Scotch tape |
透 appears in 86 compound words: 45 as the first character, 30 as the last, and 24 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 透 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (3)
Example Sentences
这个问题分析得很透彻，找到了根本原因。
Zhè gè wèntí fēnxī de hěn tòuchè, zhǎodào le gēnběn yuányīn.
This issue has been thoroughly analyzed, and the root cause has been found.
經典賽/徐若熙笑嘻嘻要回台灣了 透露近況越來越好
經 diǎn 賽 xú ruò xī xiào 嘻 嘻 yāo huí tái 灣 le tòu lù jìn 況 yuè 來 yuè hǎo
Classic Tournament/Xu Ruoxi Smiles as She Returns to Taiwan, Reveals Her Condition Is Improving
路透:中美代表團24日瑞士會晤 討論核軍控問...
lù tòu zhōng měi dài biǎo 團 rì ruì shì 會 wù 討 論 hé 軍 kòng 問 . . .
Reuters: U.S.-China delegations to meet in Switzerland on the 24th to discuss nuclear arms control issues...
拉加德稱歐洲可透過應用而非創新在人工智能領域取勝
lā jiā dé 稱 歐 zhōu kě tòu 過 應 yòng ér fēi 創 xīn zài rén gōng zhì néng 領 yù qǔ 勝
Lagarde says Europe can win in artificial intelligence through application rather than innovation
連槓龜都有玄機?她買刮刮樂摸透「1規律」 秒中萬元大獎
連 槓 龜 dōu yǒu xuán 機 ? tā 買 guā guā 樂 mō tòu 規 lǜ miǎo zhōng 萬 yuán dà 獎
Even losing streaks hold secrets? She cracked the "one pattern" of scratch-off tickets and instantly won a ten-thousand-dollar jackpot.
威科夫接受專訪透露 奉川普指示會晤伊朗前王儲
wēi kē fū jiē shòu 專 訪 tòu lù fèng chuān pǔ zhǐ shì 會 wù yī lǎng qián wáng 儲
Witkoff's interview reveals he met with Iran's former crown prince at Trump's behest.
他透露了我的秘密。
Tā tòulù le wǒ de mìmì.
He disclosed my secret.
透过薄雾，我隐约看见了我的未来。
Tòuguò bówù, wǒ yǐnyuē kànjiàn le wǒ de wèilái.
In looking through the mist, I caught a glimpse of my future.
神话让我们能透悉古文明。
Shénhuà ràng wǒmen néng tòu xī gǔwénmíng.
The myth offers insights into the ancient civilization.
我遇上了阵雨被淋得全身湿透。
Wǒ yùshàng le zhèn yǔ bèi lín de quánshēn shītòu.
I was caught in a shower and got drenched to the skin.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 透 (tòu) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 透 and 锈?
How many strokes does 透 have?
What is the radical of 透?
What are the components of 透?
What are common words containing 透?
What characters sound the same as 透 (tòu)?
Is 透 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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