How to Write 掉 (diào) — Meaning “to fall; to drop; to lose”

Imagine your hand (扌) dropping a heavy table (卓) — the table falls down with a 'diao' sound. This visual helps you remember that 掉 means 'to fall' or 'to drop' and reminds you of the two parts.

Pay attention to the right side 卓: it has a long vertical line through the center, and the bottom part has three horizontal strokes, not just two. A common mistake is making the hand radical too large or the right side too small; keep them balanced.

掉 has 扌 on the left and 卓 on the right, while 拜 uses 手 (hand) on the left and a different right part meaning 'worship'. 括 also has 扌 but its right side is 舌 (tongue), meaning 'to include'. Look at the right side to quickly tell them apart.

掉 commonly describes something falling or being dropped, like 掉下 (fall down) or 掉色 (color fades). It also appears in abstract uses such as 忘掉 (to forget, literally 'to drop from memory') and 掉头 (to make a U-turn) — you can see it on traffic signs.

Common words containing 掉 include: 掉下 (diào xià) — to fall down; to drop down; 忘掉 (wàng diào) — To forget / to drop; 掉头 (diào tóu) — to make a U-turn.