Chinese word

偷

Pronunciation

Pinyintōu

Meaning

  • verbsteal

Example

我的手机被人偷了。wǒ de shǒu jī bèi rén tōu le

My phone was stolen by someone.

Illustration for 偷 (steal)

More examples

他趁地铁上人多的时候把我的钱包偷走了。tā chèn dì tiě shàng rén duō de shí hòu bǎ wǒ de qián bāo tōu zǒu le

He stole my wallet when the subway was crowded.

Core concept

A person secretly takes someone else's property without permission, making the hidden taking central.

Common phrases

  • 偷东西tōu dōng xī

    steal things

  • 偷钱包tōu qián bāo

    steal a wallet

  • 偷手机tōu shǒu jī

    steal a cellphone

Similar words

偷窃tōu qiè: Stealing and removing someone else's belongings in secret.
盗窃dào qiè: Illegally taking another person's property in formal or legal language.
窃取qiè qǔ: Gaining information or property improperly through secret methods.
抢劫qiǎng jié: Seizing property from someone through violence or threats.

Definition in Chinese

未经允许、悄悄取得或占有他人财物的行为或动作，强调秘密性和非法性，常用作及物动词描述具体失窃情形。wèi jīng yún xǔ qiāo qiāo qǔ dé huò zhàn yǒu tā rén cái wù de xíng wéi huò dòng zuò qiáng diào mì mì xìng hé fēi fǎ xìng cháng yòng zuò jí wù dòng cí miáo shù jù tǐ shī qiè qíng xíng

Word origin

偷 (tōu, "steal") is built from 亻 (rén, "person") as the meaning side and 俞 (yú, "a phonetic element") as the sound-bearing side.

Usage tips

  • In conversation, this verb is used for a specific act of theft, while more formal Chinese often chooses specialized vocabulary in official or written descriptions.

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word