脱光 (tuō guāng) — to strip completely; to take off all one's clothes

Definition

A vivid, often colloquial verb for stripping completely naked. Separable: 脱光衣服, 脱了光了, or 把衣服脱光 — the object can sit between 脱 and 光 or after 光.

verb
to strip completelyto take off all one's clothes

Examples

  • ，脱光。
    Tā zǒu jìn yù shì, tuō guāng le yī fu.
    He walked into the bathroom and stripped off all his clothes.
  • ，脱光。
    Xià tiān tài rè, nán shēng men zài sù shè jīng cháng tuō guāng le shuì jiào.
    In summer it's so hot that the guys often sleep naked in the dorm.
  • 脱光。
    Tā bù hǎo yì si zài bié rén miàn qián tuō guāng yī fu.
    She feels embarrassed to strip off her clothes in front of others.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

脱tuōremove
光guāngbare

脱 means remove and 光 means bare, so the idea is taking clothes off until nothing remains.

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 →

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

  • 火火huǒfire
  • 卩卩jiékneeling person

The shape 光 places 火 (fire) above 卩 (a kneeling person), showing fire over the head and the shining of light.

Open 光 →
Appears in
Clothing

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.