Meaning
highest; greatest; too (much); very; extremely
Chinese: 程度过高，也可表示极大。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “tai” becomes a different word in each tone. 太 is the 4th tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 太阳tài yangsun; sunlight; sunshine; temple (on the side of the human head)
- 太太tài taimarried woman; Mrs.; Madam; wife
- 老太太lǎo tài taielderly lady (respectful); esteemed mother
- 太空tài kōngouter space
- 太极拳tài jí quánshadowboxing or Taiji, T'aichi or T'aichichuan; traditional form of physical exercise or relaxation; a martial art
Example Sentence
这件衣服太大了。Zhè jiàn yī fu tài dà le.This piece of clothing is too big.
这Zhèthis件jiànitem衣服yī fuclothes太tàitoo大dàbig了le(completed action)。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
大 (‘big’) with an extra dot, pushing the meaning past ‘big’ to ‘too / extremely / the greatest’.
A way to remember it
Big, plus one more dot — too big.
Easy to confuse with
- 大‘Big’: the same shape without the dot.
- 犬‘Dog’: the dot sits at the upper right instead of underneath.