拖 (tuō): to drag, to tow, to trail
拖 (tuō) is a Chinese character meaning “to drag.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 扌 (semantic). It ranks #1483 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 拖 hand. Its radical form 扌 (hand) appears in many related characters such as 手 (shǒu, hand), 打 (dǎ, hit, make), 找 (zhǎo, to look for).
Definitions
- to drag
- to tow
- to trail
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 拖 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 拖
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 拖车 | tuō chē | to tow |
| 拖住 | tuō zhù | to hold up |
| 拖累 | tuō lěi | to encumber |
| 拖拉机 | tuō lā jī | tractor |
| 拖把 | tuō bǎ | mop |
| 拖后腿 | tuō hòu tuǐ | to impede |
| 拖欠 | tuō qiàn | in arrears |
| 拖拖拉拉 | tuō tuō lā lā | to procrastinate |
| 拖拉 | tuō lā | to drag along |
| 拖曳 | tuō yè | to pull |
| 拖动 | tuō dòng | to drag |
| 拖泥带水 | tuō ní dài shuǐ | (idiom) muddy and wet |
| 拖沓 | tuō tà | dilatory |
| 拖船 | tuō chuán | tugboat |
| 拖布 | tuō bù | mop |
拖 appears in 73 compound words: 85 as the first character, 5 as the last, and 10 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 拖 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (6)
supporting a wife and children; dragged down by having a family to feed
dragged down by having a family to feed; to bring along one's large family
to do something in a long-drawn or slovenly manner; to be indecisive or beat about the bush
lit. to pull sb into the water; fig. to involve sb in a messy business; to get sb into trouble
supporting a wife and children; dragged down by having a family to feed
dragged down by having a family to feed; to bring along one's large family
lit. to pull sb into the water; fig. to involve sb in a messy business; to get sb into trouble
Example Sentences
请拖出你的证件，配合我们的工作。
qǐng tuō chū nǐ de zhèng jiàn , pèi gě wǒ men de gōng zuò .
Please present your identification and cooperate with our investigation.
拖吊10公里要10万!蒋万安怒轰“趁火打劫...
tuō diào 1 0 gōng lǐ yāo 1 0 wàn ! 蒋 wàn ān nù hōng chèn huǒ dǎ jié . . .
Towing 10 kilometers costs 100,000 yuan! Jiang Wan'an angrily bombarded "robbery while the fire is on...
天水围货车疑越线撼拖头 司机一度被困半昏迷
tiān shuǐ wéi huò chē yí yuè xiàn hàn tuō tóu sī jī yī dù bèi kùn bàn hūn mí
Tin Shui Wai truck suspected of crossing the line and shaking the tractor, the driver was trapped in a semi-coma for a while
又见天价拖吊 2公里开价5.1万
yòu jiàn tiān jià tuō diào 2 gōng lǐ kāi jià 5 . 1 wàn
See also the sky-high towing 2 kilometers asking price of 51,000
被欠钱“拖过年” 女撂男友讨债砍前任一家三代
bèi qiàn qián tuō guò nián nǚ 撂 nán yǒu tǎo zhài kǎn qián rèn yī jiā sān dài
Being owed money "dragged on for the New Year" The woman abandoned her boyfriend to collect debts and cut off three generations of her ex's family
黑客很会利用电脑安全措拖的漏洞。
Hēikè hěn huì lìyòng diànnǎo ānquán cuò tuō de lòudòng.
Hackers are adept at getting around computer security measures.
你扫完以后，我会拖地。
Nǐ sǎo wán yǐhòu, wǒ huì tuōdì.
When you're done sweeping, I'll mop.
你的这双拖鞋很萌。
Nǐ de zhè shuāng tuōxié hěn méng.
Your pair of slippers are very cute.
时间快要到了，你怎么还拖啊拖的。
Shíjiān kuàiyào dào le, nǐ zěnme hái tuō ā tuō de.
Time's almost up, why are you still dilly-dallying?
不要拖延去找工作的事。
Bù yào tuōyán qù zhǎo gōngzuò de shì.
Stop putting off finding a job.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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Is 拖 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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