突 (tū): sudden
突 (tū) is a Chinese character meaning “sudden.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 穴 (structural) and 犬 (structural). It ranks #484 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 突 a dog 犬 rushing out of a cave 穴. Its radical form 穴 (cave) appears in many related characters such as 穿 (chuān, to wear, 穿透), 空 (kōng, empty, sky), 究 (jiū, research).
Definitions
- sudden
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA dog 犬 rushing out of a cave 穴
Decomposition: ⿱穴犬 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 突 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 突
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 突然adjective | tū rán | sudden | 3 |
| 冲突verb | chōng tū | conflict | 6 |
| 突破verb | tū pò | to break through | 6 |
| 突出verb/adjective | tū chū | prominent | 5 |
| 突发verb | tū fā | to occur suddenly | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 突击 | tū jī | sudden and violent attack |
| 突袭 | tū xí | to raid |
| 突击队 | tū jī duì | commando unit |
| 突变 | tū biàn | sudden change |
| 唐突 | táng tū | to be rude |
| 突破口 | tū pò kǒu | breach |
| 突如其来 | tū rú qí lái | to arise abruptly |
| 突围 | tū wéi | to break a siege |
| 突起 | tū qǐ | to appear suddenly |
| 突破点 | tū pò diǎn | point of penetration (military) |
| 突破性 | tū pò xìng | groundbreaking |
| 突尼斯 | tū ní sī | Tunisia |
| 突飞猛进 | tū fēi měng jìn | to advance by leaps and bounds |
| 突显 | tū xiǎn | conspicuous |
| 突兀 | tū wù | lofty |
突 appears in 74 compound words: 50 as the first character, 27 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 突 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (12)
to take preventive measures; to take precautions (to prevent trouble from happening)
to suddenly come up with an ingenious idea; to suddenly be inspired to do something
sudden unannounced investigation; on-the-spot inspection; to search without notification
the wolf runs and the wild boar rushes (idiom); crowds of evil-doers mill around like wild beasts
sudden unannounced investigation; on-the-spot inspection; to search without notification
to take preventive measures; to take precautions (to prevent trouble from happening)
Example Sentences
突然下起了大雨，我们只好躲在商店门口避雨。
Tūrán xià qǐ le dàyǔ, wǒmen zhǐhǎo duǒ zài shāngdiàn ménkǒu bìyǔ.
It suddenly started raining heavily, so we had to take shelter at the shop entrance.
(米兰冬奥会)惊喜与突破交织 中国冰雪向新而行
( mǐ lán dōng ào huì ) jīng xǐ yǔ tū pò jiāo zhī zhōng guó bīng xuě xiàng xīn ér háng
(Milan Winter Olympics) Surprises and breakthroughs are intertwined, and China's ice and snow are moving towards the new
新春走基层丨国网株洲供电公司党员突击队护航春节绿色..
xīn chūn zǒu jī céng 丨 guó wǎng zhū zhōu gōng diàn gōng sī dǎng yuán tū jī duì hù háng chūn jié lǜ sè . .
New Year to the grassroots丨State Grid Zhuzhou Power Supply Company party member commando escorts the Spring Festival green:
冬奥会|全天综合:中国速滑再迎突破 中井亚美领跑花..
dōng ào huì quán tiān zèng gě zhōng guó sù huá zài yíng tū pò zhōng jǐng yà měi lǐng pǎo huā . .
Winter Olympics|All Day Roundup: China's speed skating breaks through again, and Ami Nakai leads the way in flower...
...丽一起“搭戏”的机器人,还藏着这样的技术突..
. . . lí yī qǐ dā xì de jī qì rén , hái zàng zhe zhè yàng de jì shù tū . .
...the robot that co-starred with Li also hides such technological breakthroughs...
突发:一男子手持霰弹枪冲向美国国会大厦
tū fā yī nán zǐ shǒu chí 霰 dàn qiāng chōng xiàng měi guó guó huì dà xià
Breaking: Man Charged Toward U.S. Capitol Building with Shotgun
蛋糕？我突然又饿了！
Dàngāo? wǒ tūrán yòu è le!
Cake? I'm suddenly hungry again.
外交谈判帮助结束了冲突。
Wàijiāo tánpàn bāngzhù jiéshù le chōngtū.
Diplomatic dialogue helped put an end to the conflict.
她得知父亲突然离世，不禁心如刀割。
Tā dézhī fùqīn tūrán líshì, bù jìn xīnrúdāogē.
She was filled with deep grief to hear of her father's sudden death.
我突然肚痛得要命。
Wǒ tūrán dùtòng děiyào mìng.
All of a sudden, I felt a sharp pain in my stomach.
Character Family
穴 Radical Family — Characters sharing the cave radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 突 (tū) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 突 have?
What is the radical of 突?
What are the components of 突?
What are common words containing 突?
What characters sound the same as 突 (tū)?
Is 突 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 突 with real-time feedback
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