汰 (tài) is a Chinese character meaning “to eliminate”. It is written from 氵 (water (left-side form)) and 太 (too; extremely), side by side, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “to weed out”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
氵 + 太
Left–right structure
Structure from: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：氵3画 + 太4画 = 7画）
Memory aid
Water (氵) poured over what is 太 (tài) "too much" — rinse the excess away and only the keepers stay. Both parts are really in this character.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 淘汰táo tàito eliminate; to weed out汰 = tài
- 淘汰赛táo tài sàiknockout round; elimination match汰 = tài
Go deeper
All readings
to weed out
to eliminate; to weed out; to discard what is unwanted; to wash away
淘洗；去掉不好的、不合适的。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 淘汰táo tàito eliminate; to weed out汰 = tài
- 淘汰赛táo tài sàiknockout round; elimination match汰 = tài
Sound component
太 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 汰 mean?
汰 (tài) means to eliminate; to weed out; to discard what is unwanted; to wash away.
How do you pronounce 汰?
It is pronounced tài.
What parts is 汰 made of?
氵 (water (left-side form)) and 太 (too; extremely), side by side. The recorded source is: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：氵3画 + 太4画 = 7画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 汰 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 汰?
水. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 汰?
Common ones are 淘汰 and 淘汰赛. The reading of 汰 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.