途 (tú): way, journey
途 (tú) is a Chinese character meaning “way, journey.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 辶 (semantic) and 余 (phonetic). It ranks #1084 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 途 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
- way, journey
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 途 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 途
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 前途noun | qián tú | prospects | 5 |
| 旅途noun | lǚ tú | journey | 6 |
| 途径noun | tú jìng | way | 6 |
| 用途noun | yòng tú | use | 5 |
| 长途adjective | cháng tú | long distance | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 途中noun | tú zhōng | en route |
| 中途noun | zhōng tú | partway through |
| 半途而废phrase | bàn tú ér fèi | to give up halfway (idiom) |
| 路途noun | lù tú | (lit. and fig.) road |
| 迷途verb | mí tú | to lose one's way |
| 前途无量phrase | qián tú wú liàng | to have boundless prospects |
| 途经verb | tú jīng | to pass through |
| 长途跋涉phrase | cháng tú bá shè | long and difficult trek |
| 道听途说 | dào tīng tú shuō | gossip |
| 歧途noun | qí tú | fork in a road |
| 误入歧途phrase | wù rù qí tú | to take a wrong step in life (idiom) |
| 沿途adverb | yán tú | along the sides of the road |
| 长途电话noun | cháng tú diàn huà | long-distance phone call |
| 征途noun | zhēng tú | long journey |
| 长途汽车noun | cháng tú qì chē | long-distance coach |
途 appears in 62 compound words: 6 as the first character, 53 as the last, and 40 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 途 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (18)
to become aware of one's errors and turn back from one's wrong path; to realize one's mistakes and correct oneself
lit. an old horse knows the way home (idiom); fig. in difficulty, trust an experience colleague
to become aware of one's errors and turn back from one's wrong path; to realize one's mistakes and correct oneself
Showing 12 of 18 idioms containing 途.
Example Sentences
旅途虽然辛苦，但收获满满。
Lǚtú suīrán xīnkǔ, dàn shōuhuò mǎnmǎn.
Although the journey was hard, the gains were plentiful.
我维和官兵完成朱巴到摩吉瑞地区的短途巡逻和武装护卫任务
wǒ wéi hé guān bīng wán chéng zhū bā dào mó jí ruì dì qū de duǎn tú xún luó hé wǔ zhuāng hù wèi rèn wù
Our peacekeeping officers and men completed short-distance patrols and armed escort missions in the Juba-Mogiri area
...权协议,致力扩大拉丁美洲生物相似药的可及途径
. . . quán xié yì , zhì lì kuò dà lā dīng měi zhōu shēng wù xiāng sì yào de kě jí tú jìng
... Rights agreement to expand access to biosimilars in Latin America
吓死了!新西兰航空客机在飞行途中发现,挡风玻璃突然开裂!
hè sǐ le ! xīn xī lán háng kōng kè jī zài fēi háng tú zhōng fā xiàn , dǎng fēng bō lí tū rán kāi liè !
I'm scared to death! The Air New Zealand passenger plane discovered during the flight that the windshield suddenly cracked!
...看见她!施工外墙必备“神秘女郎” 真实用途超爆笑
. . . kàn jiàn tā ! shī gōng wài qiáng bì bèi shén mì nǚ láng zhēn shí yòng tú chāo bào xiào
... See her! The construction of exterior walls is a must-have "mystery girl" The real use is super hilarious
男子驾车返乡途中,在服务区内临时下车,结果被猫锁在..
nán zǐ jià chē fǎn xiāng tú zhōng , zài fú wù ōu nèi lín shí xià chē , jié guǒ bèi māo suǒ zài . .
Man driving back to his hometown on the way, in the service area temporarily get off, the results were cat-locked in the...
汤姆前途无可限量。
Tāngmǔ qiántú wúkě xiàn liáng.
Tom has a brilliant future.
她能忍受长途旅行吗？
Tā néng rěnshòu chángtú lǚxíng ma?
Can she endure a long trip?
萨米只有投降一途
Sà mǐ zhǐyǒu tóuxiáng yī tú
Sami had no choice but to surrender.
他寻找一切可能的逃生途径。
Tā xúnzhǎo yīqiè kěnéng de táoshēng tújìng.
He looked for every possible means of escape.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 辶 (walk) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 途 (tú) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 途 and 叙?
How many strokes does 途 have?
What is the radical of 途?
What are the components of 途?
What are common words containing 途?
What characters sound the same as 途 (tú)?
Is 途 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 途 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.