倒掉 (dào diào) — to fall over; to topple; to collapse

Definition

倒 (dào) means 'to pour out / dump' (a liquid or loose contents), as in 倒掉垃圾. The same spelling 倒 (dǎo) means 'to fall over' — confirm pronunciation by context.

verb
to fall overto toppleto collapse

Examples

  • 倒掉。
    Dà fēng bǎ dà shù chuī dào diào le.
    The strong wind blew the big tree over.
  • 倒掉，。
    Qiáng shàng de xiàng kuàng dào diào le, shuāi suì le.
    The picture frame on the wall fell off and broke.
  • ！倒掉。
    Xiǎo xīn! yǐ zi kuài dào diào le.
    Be careful! The chair is about to topple over.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

倒dǎofall over
掉diàodrop

倒 means fall over and 掉 adds the sense of coming down.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
到
到dào倒dào
Same sound today

倒 combines 亻 (person) with 到, which gives the sound.

Open 倒 →

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 →

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