DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

偷

Mandarin · pinyin tōu

to steal
(bound form) thief
(bound form) secretly; on the sly

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

偷: tōu · to steal, burglar, thief

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1 · tou1

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

1character link3same-tone records

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

偷 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 6 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

tau1

Cantonese word readings for 偷. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character

to steal; to snatch
stealthily; secretly; covertly
thief; burglar
to have an extra-marital relationship
to while away without purpose; to drift along
(Cantonese) to exhaust the usage of space

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack