捣 (dǎo) is a Chinese character meaning “to pound”. It is written from 扌 (hand (radical form)) and 岛 (island), side by side, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “to pound”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
扌 + 岛
Left–right structure
Structure from: ids-decomposition (现代字形 ⿰扌岛，3+7=10 笔与 hanzi-writer-data 笔顺一致)
Memory aid
A hand (扌) beside an island (岛), pounding away with a pestle — to pound, and by extension to stir things up.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 捣乱dǎo luànto make trouble; to cause a disturbance捣 = dǎo
- 捣蛋dǎo dànto act up; to be mischievous捣 = dǎo
Go deeper
All readings
to pound
to pound; to beat with a pestle; to harass; to stir up trouble
用棍棒等的一端撞击；也指搅扰、捣乱。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 捣乱dǎo luànto make trouble; to cause a disturbance捣 = dǎo
- 捣蛋dǎo dànto act up; to be mischievous捣 = dǎo
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 捣 mean?
捣 (dǎo) means to pound; to beat with a pestle; to harass; to stir up trouble.
How do you pronounce 捣?
It is pronounced dǎo.
What parts is 捣 made of?
扌 (hand (radical form)) and 岛 (island), side by side. The recorded source is: ids-decomposition (现代字形 ⿰扌岛，3+7=10 笔与 hanzi-writer-data 笔顺一致). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 捣 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 捣?
扌. 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 捣?
Common ones are 捣乱 and 捣蛋. The reading of 捣 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.