淘

táo
匋 + 氵
HSK 3.0Level 7

Definitions

táo (verb) to wash; to clean out
táo (verb) to eliminate; to filter out

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 匋 represents the sound.

Semantic: 氵 Phonetic: 匋

About

淘 is a phonosemantic compound: 氵 (water) provides the meaning, while 匋 indicates the pronunciation. Its original sense was washing or sifting material in water, especially to extract gold from earth and gravel. This physical process of separation led to the abstract meaning of eliminating unwanted elements, and colloquially it describes a naughty, overly mischievous child.

Example Sentences Hide

这个小孩真淘气。

Zhè ge xiǎo hái zhēn táo qì.

This child is really naughty.

妈妈在厨房里淘米。

Māma zài chúfáng lǐ táo mǐ.

Mom is washing rice in the kitchen.

旧手机被淘汰了。

Jiù shǒujī bèi táotài le.

The old mobile phone was phased out.

我喜欢在淘宝上购物。

Wǒ xǐhuān zài Táobǎo shàng gòuwù.

I like shopping on Taobao.

他们去河边淘金。

Tāmen qù hé biān táo jīn.

They went to the riverbank to pan for gold.

淘洗蔬菜时要仔细。

Táo xǐ shūcài shí yào zǐxì.

When rinsing vegetables, be careful.

他到处淘换旧书。

Tā dàochù táo huàn jiù shū.

He seeks out old books everywhere.

经过多次淘汰赛，他终于进入了决赛。

Jīngguò duō cì táotài sài, tā zhōngyú jìnrùle juésài.

After multiple elimination matches, he finally entered the finals.

Related Characters

Component: 匋

陶 萄 掏 啕 绹 醄 騊 綯

Component: 氵

法 没 海 活 治 清 济 流 深 满 消 注 派 河

Example Words

淘宝 淘宝网 淘气 淘汰 淘金 小淘气 海淘 淘客 淘汰赛 淘河 淘洗 淘米 淘金潮 淘金者