DICTIONARY
The Chinese word tou - 偷 - tōu
(to steal in Chinese)
Phonetic script (Hanyu Pinyin)
tōu
Listen to pronunciation
(Mandarin = standard Chinese without accent)
(Sorry, we have not yet had the chance to record tōu with a Chinese native speaker).
English translation
to steal
Chinese character and stroke order animation"How do I write 偷 ( tōu ) correctly?"
The strokes that all Chinese characters are composed of are to be written in a certain order which has originally been defined by Chinese calligraphy. Writing all characters according to the same rules assures that their intended shape and style are generally preserved even if written by different writers.
This dictionary shows you the correct stroke order as an animation for all characters so you can learn and understand how to write the character correctly. :
The strokes that all Chinese characters are composed of are to be written in a certain order which has originally been defined by Chinese calligraphy. Writing all characters according to the same rules assures that their intended shape and style are generally preserved even if written by different writers.
This dictionary shows you the correct stroke order as an animation for all characters so you can learn and understand how to write the character correctly. :
The traditional Chinese characters of tōu are identical with the modern (simplified) characters displayed above.
Chinese Pinyin example sentence with 偷 ( tou / tōu ) ⓘWriting in Pinyin
Before using this Pinyin example sentence, consider that Chinese characters should always be your first choice in written communication.
If you cannot use Chinese characters, it is preferable to use the Pinyin with tones. Only use the Pinyin without tones if there's no other option (e.g. writing a text message from/to a mobile phone that doesn't support special characters such as ā, í, ǒ, ù).
Before using this Pinyin example sentence, consider that Chinese characters should always be your first choice in written communication.
If you cannot use Chinese characters, it is preferable to use the Pinyin with tones. Only use the Pinyin without tones if there's no other option (e.g. writing a text message from/to a mobile phone that doesn't support special characters such as ā, í, ǒ, ù).
Wo de zixingche bei tou le.
Wǒ de zìxíngchē bèi tōu le.– English translation: My bike was stolen.
Character complexity
偷 is composed of 11 strokes and therefore is of average complexity compared to the other simplified Chinese characters (average: 13.1 strokes).
Tags and additional information
(Meaning of individual characters, character components etc.)
person | to live without purpose
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Version 5.52 / Last updated: 2026-11-03