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丢掉 (diū diào) — to lose (something, e.g. keys, a job); to throw away, to discard

Definition

A separable verb covering both 'to lose' and 'to throw away.' Tone and context pick the sense: with 把, it usually means losing; with 可以/该, it means discarding.

verb
to lose (something, e.g. keys, a job)to throw awayto discard

Examples

  • 丢掉。
    Wǒ bù xiǎo xīn bǎ yào shi diū diào le.
    I accidentally lost my keys.
  • 丢掉。
    Zhè xiē jiù yī fu kě yǐ diū diào le.
    These old clothes can be thrown away.
  • 丢掉。
    Tā yīn wèi chí dào diū diào le gōng zuò.
    He lost his job because of being late.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

丢diūlose/throw
掉diàooff/away

丢 means throw or lose, and 掉 adds away or off, giving discard or lose.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 丟; 丢 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 丟 is made of 一 (one) and 去 (to go; to remove); the simplified 丢 is a later shorthand, so its shapes are not the original parts.

Open 丢 →

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
卓
卓zhuó掉diào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

掉 is built from 扌 (a hand) and 卓, which gives the pronunciation.

Open 掉 →
Appears in
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