逃 (táo) is a Chinese character meaning “to run away”. It is written from 辶 (walk; go — the "movement" radical (chuò)) and 兆 (omen; a trillion), one enclosing the other, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “to flee; to escape”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
辶 + 兆
Enclosing structure
Structure from: IDS 拆分 ⿺辶兆，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–5 组成「兆」，笔画 6–8 组成「辶」；「兆」记作声符的依据是同系列 桃 táo／跳 tiào／挑 tiāo 与本字 táo 共用韵母 ao
Memory aid
The road radical 辶 wraps around the bottom-left, and 兆 — an omen — rides on top of it. You read the bad omen and take to the road: you flee. Both parts really are in this character.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 逃走táo zǒuto flee; to run away; to escape逃 = táo
- 逃学táo xuéto skip school; to play truant逃 = táo
- 逃逸táo yìto escape; to flee逃 = táo
Go deeper
All readings
to flee; to escape
to run away; to flee; to escape; to evade (a duty, a tax, a punishment)
为了躲开不利的处境而离开；躲避、回避。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 逃走táo zǒuto flee; to run away; to escape逃 = táo
- 逃学táo xuéto skip school; to play truant逃 = táo
- 逃逸táo yìto escape; to flee逃 = táo
Sound component
兆 family onset shift
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 逃 mean?
逃 (táo) means to run away; to flee; to escape; to evade (a duty, a tax, a punishment).
How do you pronounce 逃?
It is pronounced táo.
What parts is 逃 made of?
辶 (walk; go — the "movement" radical (chuò)) and 兆 (omen; a trillion), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: IDS 拆分 ⿺辶兆，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–5 组成「兆」，笔画 6–8 组成「辶」；「兆」记作声符的依据是同系列 桃 táo／跳 tiào／挑 tiāo 与本字 táo 共用韵母 ao. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 逃 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 逃?
辶. 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 逃?
Common ones are 逃走 and 逃学. The reading of 逃 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.