吐 (tǔ): to spit, to vomit
吐 (tǔ) is a Chinese character meaning “to spit, to vomit.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 口 (semantic) and 土 (phonetic). It ranks #1641 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 吐 mouth. Its radical form 口 (mouth) appears in many related characters such as 口 (kǒu, mouth), 叫 (jiào, to call, to be called), 右 (yòu, (bound form) right).
Definitions
- to spit, to vomit
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 吐 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 呕吐 | ǒu tù | to vomit |
| 吐露 | tǔ lù | to tell |
| 吐血 | tù xiě | to cough up blood |
| 谈吐 | tán tǔ | style of conversation |
| 倾吐 | qīng tǔ | to pour out (emotions) |
| 吞吞吐吐 | tūn tūn tǔ tǔ | to hum and haw (idiom) |
| 马克·吐温 | mǎ kè · tǔ wēn | Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens 1835-1910), US writer, novelist and humorist, author of Adventures of Huckleberr... |
| 吐沫 | tù mo | saliva |
| 一吐为快 | yī tǔ wéi kuài | to get sth off one's chest |
| 吐字 | tǔ zì | diction |
| 吞云吐雾 | tūn yún tǔ wù | to swallow clouds and blow out fog (idiom) |
| 吐根 | tǔ gēn | ipecac |
| 吐丝 | tǔ sī | (of spiders, caterpillars, silkworms etc) to extrude silk |
| 孕吐 | yùn tù | morning sickness (during pregnancy) |
| 吞吐 | tūn tǔ | to take in and send out (in large quantities) |
吐 appears in 61 compound words: 54 as the first character, 13 as the last, and 33 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 吐 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (9)
to have to get something off one's chest; to have to say something to feel comfortable
breathing technique to rejuvenate; get rid of the stale and take in the fresh
to spin a cocoon around oneself (idiom); enmeshed in a trap of one's own devising; hoist with his own petard
to mutter and mumble; to hum and haw; to stumble over one's words; to speak in a halting way
a state of mediation where a person no longer requires food; to smoke (cigarettes, or other drugs)
to have to get something off one's chest; to have to say something to feel comfortable
breathing technique to rejuvenate; get rid of the stale and take in the fresh
to mutter and mumble; to hum and haw; to stumble over one's words; to speak in a halting way
a state of mediation where a person no longer requires food; to smoke (cigarettes, or other drugs)
Example Sentences
晕车的时候最好不要看手机，否则更容易呕吐。
Yùnchē de shíhou zuìhǎo búyào kàn shǒujī, fǒuzé gèng róngyì ǒutù.
When experiencing motion sickness, it's best not to look at your phone, otherwise you're more likely to vomit.
诺如病毒|今抵港邮轮威士特丹号76人上吐下泻 首名病人日本登船
nuò rú bìng dú jīn dǐ gǎng yóu lún wēi shì tè dān hào 7 6 rén shàng tǔ xià xiè shǒu míng bìng rén rì běn dēng chuán
Norovirus|76 people on the cruise ship Westerdam arrived in Hong Kong today, vomiting and diarrhea, and the first patient boarded the ship in Japan
避孕药什么时候吃有效?服药后呕吐是否需要补服一片
bì yùn yào shén má shí hòu chī yǒu xiào ? fú yào hòu ǒu tǔ shì fǒu xū yāo bǔ fú yī piàn
When are birth control pills effective? Do you need to take a refill tablet for vomiting after taking the medicine?
再创新高 哈尔滨机场单日旅客吞吐量101608人次
zài chuàng xīn gāo hā ěr bīn jī chǎng dān rì lǚ kè tūn tǔ liàng rén cì
Harbin Airport Sets New Record with 101,608 Daily Passengers
過年「烤蚵吃到飽」10人吐瀉 業者說話了
過 nián kǎo 蚵 chī dào 飽 rén tǔ 瀉 業 zhě 說 話 le
New Year's "all-you-can-eat grilled oysters" 10 people vomited and diarrhea The business spoke
...風波網民批人設崩壞欠公信力 詹天文11字吐真言
. . . 風 bō 網 mín pī rén 設 bēng 壞 qiàn gōng xìn lì 詹 tiān wén zì tǔ zhēn yán
Netizens Slam Character Collapse and Lack of Credibility Amid Controversy Zhan Tianwen Speaks Truth in 11 Words
随地吐痰在新加坡算是犯罪行为。
Suídì tǔtán zài Xīnjiāpō suànshì fànzuìxíngwéi.
In Singapore, it is a crime to spit on the ground.
惠子，你有奶油吐司吗？
Huìzi, nǐ yǒu nǎiyóu tǔsī ma?
Keiko, do you have any buttered toast?
有点恶心，但是吐不出来。
Yǒudiǎn ěxīn, dànshì tǔ bù chūlái.
I feel a little nauseous, but I'm unable to throw up.
听他的谈吐，就知道他不是美国人了。
Tīng tā de tántǔ, jiù zhīdào tā bù shì Měiguórén le.
I know from his speech that he is not an American.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 吐 (tǔ) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 吐 and 肚?
How many strokes does 吐 have?
What is the radical of 吐?
What are the components of 吐?
What are common words containing 吐?
What characters sound the same as 吐 (tǔ)?
Is 吐 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 吐 with real-time feedback
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