涛 (tāo) is a Chinese character meaning “big wave”. It is written from 氵 (water (left-side form)) and 寿 (long life; longevity), side by side, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “big wave”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
氵 + 寿
Left–right structure
Structure from: makemeahanzi IDS + hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验
Memory aid
Water (氵) next to 寿, "long life": waves that keep rolling in as if they will live forever — big, endless billows.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 波涛bō tāogreat waves; billows涛 = tāo
- 涛声tāo shēngthe sound of waves涛 = tāo
- 波涛汹涌bō tāo xiōng yǒngthe waves are surging violently; turbulent涛 = tāo
Go deeper
All readings
big wave
big wave; billow; a sound like surging waves
大的波浪；也指像波浪一样起伏的声音。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 波涛bō tāogreat waves; billows涛 = tāo
- 涛声tāo shēngthe sound of waves涛 = tāo
- 波涛汹涌bō tāo xiōng yǒngthe waves are surging violently; turbulent涛 = tāo
Sound component
寿 family diverged
Easy to confuse with
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 涛 mean?
涛 (tāo) means big wave; billow; a sound like surging waves.
How do you pronounce 涛?
It is pronounced tāo.
What parts is 涛 made of?
氵 (water (left-side form)) and 寿 (long life; longevity), side by side. The recorded source is: makemeahanzi IDS + hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 涛 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 涛?
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 涛?
Common ones are 波涛 and 涛声. The reading of 涛 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.