ENESFRDE中文

Characters, words, pinyin or English

讨 tǎo ask for

ask for; to haggle; to discuss; to provoke; to demand or ask for

How to remember 讨: 讠 words + 寸 inch = ask for. With polite words the boy creeps an inch closer to Grandma's cookie jar and decides to ask for one more.

  • 833. most frequent character
  • HSK 4
  • 5 strokes
  • Radical 言

Component breakdown

讨 = 讠 words + 寸 inch

  • 讠 words
  • 寸 inch
The Gushi story

With polite words the boy creeps an inch closer to Grandma's cookie jar and decides to ask for one more.

How it is used

  • To ask for / provoke, and to discuss - 讨论 (tǎolùn) discuss, 探讨 (tàntǎo) explore a topic, 讨价还价 (tǎojià-huánjià) haggle.
  • It often colors the following word negatively: 讨厌 (tǎoyàn) to detest, 讨好 (tǎohǎo) to curry favor.
  • 讨 alone can mean 'to beg/demand': 讨饭 beg for food, 讨说法 demand an explanation.

Words with 讨

Example sentences

  • 我讨厌你的行为。 Wǒ tǎoyàn nǐ de xíngwéi.I hate what you've done.
  • 同事们在讨论方案。 Tóngshìmen zài tǎolùn fāng'àn.The colleagues are discussing a project.
  • 他们在讨论这个案子。 Tāmen zài tǎolùn zhège ànzi.They are discussing the case.