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吐 (tù) — to vomit; to throw up; to cough up or spit out (blood, fluid)

Definition

Tone matters: 吐 (tù) means to vomit or spit up (blood, fluid) involuntarily; 吐 (tǔ) is the deliberate 'spit out / emit'. 呕吐 is a more formal synonym for the vomiting sense.

verb
to vomitto throw upto cough up or spit out (blood, fluid)
Easily confused

Examples

  • ，吐。
    Tā chī huài le dù zi, yì zhí zài tù.
    He ate something bad and has been vomiting.
  • 吐。
    Bìng rén tū rán tù le yì kǒu xuè.
    The patient suddenly spat up a mouthful of blood.
  • ，吐。
    Wǒ yùn chē le, hěn xiǎng tù.
    I got carsick and really feel like throwing up.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
土
土tǔ吐tǔ
Same sound today

吐 pairs 口, the mouth, with 土, which gives the sound.

Appears in
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