Definitions

tuō to commission, to entrust, to rely on

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

About

(tuō) is the simplified form of traditional . It is a phono-semantic compound: the speech radical (yán) indicates a connection to words or communication, while (tuō) supplies the pronunciation. The simplification affected only the radical, reducing to and leaving the phonetic component unchanged. The character primarily means to entrust, commission, or rely on someone, and over time it also developed the extended sense of making an excuse or using something as a pretext.

Etymology Hide

Bronze etymology image
Bronze Early Warring States (~400 BC)
Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Western Jin dynasty (266-316 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern