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 "to smear"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "to smear", including 涂 (tú), 涂 (tú), 抹 (mǒ / mò). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "to smear" covers 3 different Chinese characters — 涂 (tú), 涂 (tú), 抹 (mǒ / mò) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 3 characters do not share a sound — their readings span tú, mǒ, mò — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. 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
- 抹 mǒ / mòplay; to smear; girdle; brassiere; to plasterUseful words: 涂抹, 抹杀
Common words for these 3 "to smear" characters
Anchor each of these 3 characters in a word you can picture — start with 涂 (tú) — so "to smear" 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涂抹tú mǒto paint; to smear; to apply (makeup etc); to doodle抹杀mǒ shāto erase; to cover traces; to obliterate evidence; to expunge抹去mǒ qùto erase
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 3 ways to say "to smear".
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)
抹 mǒ / mò — play; to smear; girdle; brassiere; to plaster
她在面包上抹了一层果酱。Tā zài miàn bāo shàng mǒ le yì céng guǒ jiàng.She spread a layer of jam on the bread.
Common words: 涂抹 (tú mǒ)、抹杀 (mǒ shā)、抹去 (mǒ qù)
All 3 characters
Open 涂、涂、抹 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.