盗

盜
dào
#1,617 most
frequent character
to steal
verb

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

盗 once showed a boat 舟 and 㳄, meaning spit or overflow, to picture a river overflowing. Both parts are now empty: 次 and 皿. The meaning grew from overflowing to escaping in old texts, then to stealing and to a thief.

Drawn as: boat; spit

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Example Sentences

他在商店里盗窃了很多东西。
tāzài shāngdiàn lǐ dàoqiè le hěnduō dōngxī 。
He stole many things in the store.
警察抓住了那个盗贼。
jǐngchá zhuāzhù le nàgè dàozéi 。
The police caught that thief.
他因为盗窃被判刑了。
tā yīnwèi dàoqiè bèi pànxíng le 。
He was sentenced because of theft.

Words with similar meanings

窃qiè
to pilfer
窃 (qiè) is a more formal or literary term for stealing, often implying stealth or craftiness.
抢qiāng
to snatch
抢 (qiǎng) suggests taking something forcefully or suddenly, rather than secretly.

Homophones

HSK 2
到dào
to (a place), until (a time)
HSK 5
倒dào
to move backwards, converse
道dào
road, way, path

Words Starting With 盗

盗窃dào qiè
to steal

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