The Chinese word 倒 has multiple meanings and can be used in various contexts. One of its most common meanings is “to pour” or “to tip over”, as in “倒水” meaning “to pour water”. It can also mean “to invert” or “to turn upside down”, as in “倒车” meaning “to reverse a car”. In addition, 倒 can be used to express “contrary to expectations” or “unexpectedly”, as in “他倒很喜欢这个礼物” meaning “Surprisingly, he really likes this gift”.
Translation
dào
Verb: to pour, to reverse
Adverb: on the contrary, instead
dǎo
Verb: to change (bus, train),
Pronunciation
Example Sentences
| Chinese | Pinyin | Engish |
|---|---|---|
| 我把杯子倒了 | wǒ bǎ bēizi dào le | I poured out the cup |
| 他倒了一杯水 | tā dào le yī bēi shuǐ | He poured a glass of water |
| 这个杯子不容易倒 | zhège bēizi bù róngyì dào | This cup is not easy to pour |
| 我的酒倒了 | wǒ de jiǔ dào le | My wine spilled |
| 她把咖啡倒在地上了 | tā bǎ kāfēi dào zài dìshàng le | She spilled the coffee on the floor |
| 他把盘子倒掉了 | tā bǎ pánzi dào diào le | He dumped the plate |
| 我们把水倒进了水壶 | wǒmen bǎ shuǐ dào jìn le shuǐhú | We poured water into the kettle |
| 瓶子里的水倒完了 | píngzi lǐ de shuǐ dào wán le | The water in the bottle is all gone |
HSK
倒 is part of HSK Level 5 in HSK 2.0. In the newer HSK 3.0 it is part of HSK Level 2.
Learning Card
