偷tōu

偷

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Simplified · Today

简体

Simplified Chinese

Modern simplified form (簡體). 偷 (tōu, "to steal") remains unchanged from traditional to simplified — combining the person radical (亻) with 俞, suggesting a person acting in secret. It appears in words like 偷窃 (to steal), 偷看 (to peek), and 偷懒 (to be lazy).

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Shuowen

Steal. The person radical 亻 on the left represents a human agent, while 俞 on the right originally depicted a boat and provided phonetic value; together they convey the image of a person slipping away covertly, as one might drift off in a vessel without notice. The original meaning is to take something stealthily, to act in secret, which is why the character combines a human with a word suggesting silent passage.

Pinyin

tōu· HSK 2

偷tōu

Character evolution

Shuowen

Pinyin