投

tóu

扌 + 殳

HSK 3.0Level 5

Definitions

tóu (verb) to throw; to cast

tóu (verb) to invest; to put into

tóu (verb) to seek refuge; to surrender oneself to

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 扌 represents the meaning and 殳 represents the sound.

Semantic: 扌 Phonetic: 殳

About

投 is a phono-semantic compound composed of the hand radical 扌 and the phonetic component 殳 (shū), which originally depicted a hand gripping a weapon. 扌 signals that the character refers to a manual action, while 殳 provides the pronunciation. The core sense is the physical act of throwing or casting an object. From this, the meaning broadened to abstract actions such as casting a ballot, investing funds, or seeking refuge.

Etymology Hide

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

他正在投篮。

Tā zhèngzài tóulán.

He is shooting a basket.

我投了一票给那个候选人。

Wǒ tóu le yī piào gěi nàgè hòuxuǎn rén.

I voted for that candidate.

她投资了一家新公司。

Tā tóuzī le yī jiā xīn gōngsī.

She invested in a new company.

请把信件投递到邮箱里。

Qǐng bǎ xìnjiàn tóudì dào yóuxiāng lǐ.

Please deliver the letter into the mailbox.

他投身于慈善事业。

Tā tóushēn yú císhàn shìyè.

He devoted himself to charity work.

这个项目需要投入更多资金。

Zhège xiàngmù xūyào tóurù gèng duō zījīn.

This project requires more capital investment.

他投简历的时候非常小心。

Tā tóu jiǎnlì de shíhòu fēicháng xiǎoxīn.

He was very careful when submitting his resume.

如果你有意见，可以投入到讨论中。

Rúguǒ nǐ yǒu yìjiàn, kěyǐ tóurù dào tǎolùn zhōng.

If you have any opinions, you can contribute to the discussion.

Related Characters

Component: 扌

Component: 殳

投