涂 tú — to smear; daub; (surname); to smear; daub; to apply (paint)
小朋友在画纸上涂上了五颜六色。Xiǎo péng you zài huà zhǐ shàng tú shàng le wǔ yán liù sè.The child painted the drawing paper in many colors.
Common words: 糊涂 (hú tu)、涂抹 (tú mǒ)、一塌糊涂 (yī tā hú tu)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "daub"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "daub", including 涂 (tú), 涂 (tú). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words, and examples.
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "daub" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 涂 (tú), 涂 (tú) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters happen to share the reading tú, so lean on the words and written forms to tell them apart. The example sentences further down show how 涂 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 涂 túto smear; daub; (surname); to smear; daub; to apply (paint)Useful words: 糊涂, 涂抹
- 涂 túto smear; daub; (surname); to smear; daub; to apply (paint)Useful words: 糊涂, 涂抹
Common words for these 2 "daub" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 涂 (tú) — so "daub" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
糊涂hú tumuddled; silly; confused涂抹tú mǒto paint; to smear; to apply (makeup etc); to doodle一塌糊涂yī tā hú tumuddled and completely collapsing (idiom); in an awful condition; complete shambles; a total mess糊涂hú tumuddled; silly; confused涂抹tú mǒto paint; to smear; to apply (makeup etc); to doodle一塌糊涂yī tā hú tumuddled and completely collapsing (idiom); in an awful condition; complete shambles; a total mess
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 2 ways to say "daub".
涂 tú — to smear; daub; (surname); to smear; daub; to apply (paint)
小朋友在画纸上涂上了五颜六色。Xiǎo péng you zài huà zhǐ shàng tú shàng le wǔ yán liù sè.The child painted the drawing paper in many colors.
Common words: 糊涂 (hú tu)、涂抹 (tú mǒ)、一塌糊涂 (yī tā hú tu)
All 2 characters
Open 涂、涂 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.