涂 (tú): to apply (paint etc), to smear, to daub
涂 (tú) is a Chinese character meaning “to apply (paint etc).” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 氵 (semantic) and 余 (phonetic). It ranks #1719 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 涂 water. Its radical form 氵 (water) appears in many related characters such as 水 (shuǐ, water), 汉 (hàn, Han ethnic group), 汽 (qì, steam).
Definitions
- to apply (paint etc)
- to smear
- to daub
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 涂 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 糊涂 | hú tu | muddled |
| 一塌糊涂 | yī tā hú tu | muddled and completely collapsing (idiom) |
| 涂鸦 | tú yā | graffiti |
| 涂料 | tú liào | paint |
| 一败涂地 | yī bài tú dì | lit. defeated, the ground blanketed with bodies (idiom) |
| 老糊涂 | lǎo hú tu | dotard |
| 糊里糊涂 | hú li hú tú | confused |
| 涂抹 | tú mǒ | to paint |
| 稀里糊涂 | xī li hú tu | muddleheaded |
| 涂改 | tú gǎi | to alter (text) |
| 涂层 | tú céng | protective layer |
| 糊涂虫 | hú tu chóng | blunderer |
| 胡涂 | hú tu | variant of 糊塗|糊涂[hu2 tu5] |
| 涂装 | tú zhuāng | painted ornament |
| 涂脂抹粉 | tú zhī mǒ fěn | (idiom) to put on makeup |
涂 appears in 53 compound words: 53 as the first character, 25 as the last, and 23 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 涂 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (8)
in a complete mess; in an awful condition; a kettle of fish; extremely; tremendously
in a complete mess; in an awful condition; a kettle of fish; extremely; tremendously
Example Sentences
这条涂流经三个省份，滋养了沿岸的农田。
zhè tiáo tú liú jīng sān gě shěng fèn , zī yǎng le yán àn de nóng tián .
This river flows through three provinces, nourishing the farmland along its banks.
横眉冷看:年不老却头脑糊涂
héng méi lěng kàn : nián bù lǎo què tóu nǎo hú tú
A Sullen Glance: Young in Years but Fuzzy-Minded
国泰航空欢庆80周年 经典绿白间条涂装今抵台
guó tài háng kōng huān qìng 8 0 zhōu nián jīng diǎn lǜ bái jiān tiáo tú zhuāng jīn dǐ tái
Cathay Pacific celebrates its 80th anniversary with a classic green and white stripe livery arriving in Taiwan today
先热锅还是先落油?错1步伤涂层损食道!专家教4种锅落油最佳时机
xiān rè guō hái shì xiān luò yóu ? cuò 1 bù shāng tú céng sǔn shí dào ! zhuān jiā jiào 4 zhǒng guō luò yóu zuì jiā shí jī
Heat the pan or add oil first? Wrong 1 step to damage the coating and damage the esophagus! Experts teach 4 best times for pans to fall oil
笔下风云:一败涂地 等被弹劾
bǐ xià fēng yún : yī bài tú dì děng bèi dàn 劾
The pen is in turmoil: a complete failure and other impeachment
美空军宣布新“空军一号”总统专机将启用新涂装,拟采..
měi kōng jūn xuān bù xīn kōng jūn yī hào zǒng tǒng zhuān jī jiāng qǐ yòng xīn tú zhuāng , nǐ cǎi . .
The U.S. Air Force announced that the new "Air Force One" presidential plane will be launched with a new livery and intends to adopt:
我把起酥油涂抹在鹿肉上。
Wǒ bǎ qǐ sūyóu túmǒ zài lùròu shàng.
I daub the venison with shortening.
你能在我的背上涂些防晒霜吗？
Nǐ néng zài wǒ de bèi shàng tú xiē fángshàishuāng ma?
Can you put some suntan lotion on my back?
小事聪明，大事糊涂。
Xiǎoshì cōngming, dàshì hútu.
Penny wise, pound foolish.
我们把门涂成了绿色。
Wǒmen bǎmén tú chéngle lǜsè.
We painted the door green.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 涂 (tú) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 涂 and 叙?
How many strokes does 涂 have?
What is the radical of 涂?
What are the components of 涂?
What are common words containing 涂?
What characters sound the same as 涂 (tú)?
Is 涂 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 涂 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.