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脱落 (tuō luò) — to fall off, to shed (hair, paint, leaves, teeth, etc.); to be omitted, to miss out (a character or passage when writing)

Definition

Two senses: 'fall/shed off' physically (leaves, hair, paint) and 'be omitted' in writing. For the writing sense, 脱落 and 落 (là) both mean 'to leave out', but 落 is the everyday verb; 脱落 sounds more formal/literary.

verb
to fall offto shed (hair, paint, leaves, teeth, etc.)to be omittedto miss out (a character or passage when writing)

Examples

  • ，脱落。
    Qiū tiān dào le, shù yè kāi shǐ tuō luò.
    Autumn has arrived, and the leaves are starting to fall.
  • ，脱落。
    Tā shuāi dǎo le, yì kē yá chǐ tuō luò le.
    He fell down and lost a tooth.
  • 脱落。
    Zhè ge bǎn běn tuō luò le yí duàn huà.
    This version has a paragraph missing.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

脱tuōdetach; shed
落luòfall; drop

脱 and 落 both describe something separating and falling away, as hair, leaves, paint, or text.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 脫; 脱 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
⺼Written in full as肉ròu
Sound part声符shēngfú
兌
兌duì脫tuō
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 脫 puts ⺼ (meat) beside 兌, which gives the sound; the simplified 脱 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical pieces.

Open 脱 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艹Written in full as艸cǎo
Sound part声符shēngfú
洛
洛luò落luò
Same sound today

落 pairs 艹 with 洛; 洛 gives the sound, and 艹 relates to the meaning.

Open 落 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Change & Process

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