倒dǎo

倒

Hover to feel · click to explore

Simplified · Today

简体

Simplified Chinese

倒 (dǎo) is identical in simplified and traditional forms — a character that combines the person radical (亻) with 到 (to arrive), visually suggesting a person falling or something being overturned. It carries meanings of "to fall," "to overturn," and "to pour out," appearing in everyday words like 摔倒 (to fall) and 倒车 (to reverse a car).

← → navigate · swipe on mobile

Shuowen

倒 is composed of the human radical 亻 combined with the phonetic component 到; it originally meant “to fall or topple,” picturing a person dropping to the ground, which is why the human element was chosen to convey the notion of falling. The earliest oracle‑bone inscriptions already show a human figure in a prone position, confirming the original sense of collapse.

Pinyin

dǎo· HSK 2

倒dǎo

Character evolution

Shuowen

Pinyin