tau4亠
Jyutpingtau4
Yaletàuh
Definition
The "lid" radical in Chinese characters, Kangxi radical 8.
neutralother
How it's used
This character is almost exclusively used as a meta-linguistic term when discussing the structure of Chinese characters. It is rarely used in isolation outside of a classroom or calligraphy context. It represents the specific horizontal stroke with a dot on top, often seen in characters like 高 or 京.
Examples
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often confuse this with the radical 宀, which is called 寶蓋頭. While both appear at the top of characters, 亠 lacks the two side strokes that form the roof shape of 宀.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- QuestionsFrom yes or no questions to asking who, what, where, and when. The patterns you need to ask questions naturally in Cantonese.
- ClassifiersCantonese puts a classifier between a number and a noun, and a bare classifier on its own can mean the. Learn the common ones and how to use them.
- ComparisonsHow to say bigger than, the most, the same as, and not as good as. Cantonese uses 過 where Mandarin uses 比, and that catches a lot of learners out.
