盗

盜

dào

次 + 皿

HSK 3.0Level 7

Definitions

dào (verb) to steal; to rob; to plunder

dào (noun) thief; bandit; robber

Etymology

Simplified form of 盜. Depicts a gluttonous person drooling (㳄) for food inside of a dish (皿). The meaning later shifted to "steal", "rob", and "bandit".

About

The character 盗 is an ideogrammatic compound, historically depicting a vivid visual narrative. Its traditional form, 盜, combines the semantic component 皿 (a shallow bowl or vessel) at the bottom with the component 㳄 above, which showed a person drooling over the bowl's contents. This combination conveyed the idea of coveting another's property, leading to theft or banditry. In the simplified character 盗, the upper part is replaced by 次, removing the original drooling image while retaining the bottom vessel component and the core meaning of illicitly taking others' belongings.

Etymology Hide

Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)

Bronze Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

盗贼被警察抓住了。

Dàozéi bèi jǐngchá zhuāzhù le.

The thief was caught by the police.

他因盗窃罪入狱。

Tā yīn dàoqiè zuì rù yù.

He was imprisoned for theft.

盗版软件是非法的。

Dàobǎn ruǎnjiàn shì fēifǎ de.

Pirated software is illegal.

海盗在海上抢劫船只。

Hǎidào zài hǎishàng qiǎngjié chuánzhī.

Pirates rob ships at sea.

防盗门能保护家庭安全。

Fángdào mén néng bǎohù jiātíng ānquán.

Anti-theft doors can protect home security.

盗用他人身份是严重的犯罪。

Dàoyòng tārén shēnfèn shì yánzhòng de fànzuì.

Misusing someone else's identity is a serious crime.

考古学家发现了盗墓的痕迹。

Kǎogǔ xuéjiā fāxiànle dàomù de hénjì.

Archaeologists found traces of tomb robbery.

网络盗窃案件日益增多。

Wǎngluò dàoqiè ànjiàn rìyì zēngduō.

Cyber theft cases are increasing daily.

Related Characters

Component: 次

Component: 皿

盗