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掉 (diào) — to fall; to drop; to lose; to go missing; (used after certain verbs as a resultative complement) indicating completion, removal, or a change of state

Definition

掉 is a verb meaning 'to fall/drop' or 'to lose', and very commonly attaches after another verb as a result complement to mark completion or removal (扔掉, 删掉). For 'lose/go missing' of a person, use 失踪.

verb
to fallto dropto loseto go missing(used after certain verbs as a resultative complement) indicating completionremovalor a change of state
Easily confused

Examples

  • 掉。
    Bēi zi diào zài dì shàng le.
    The cup fell on the floor.
  • 掉。
    Wǒ de qián bāo diào le.
    I lost my wallet.
  • 。
    Wǒ bǎ lā jī rēng diào le.
    I threw away the trash.

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
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.

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4500 Most Frequent Chinese WordsHSK 2.0 Level 41000 Most Frequent Chinese WordsChange & Process2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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