How to Write 淘 (táo) — Meaning “to wash in a pan; to sift; naughty”

Imagine you are "washing rice" in a pan (氵) while a mischievous child (naughty meaning) keeps splashing water out. The right side 匋 looks like a person (勹) inside a container (缶), like someone playing in water, so you remember both the washing and naughty meanings.

The left radical 氵 must be written with three dots, not a straight line. The right part 匋 starts with a leftward stroke (丿) then wraps around; the bottom component 缶 has a narrow top and a wider bottom. A common mistake is making the right side too tall or misplacing the horizontal stroke in the middle.

洁 (jié) means 'clean' or 'pure' and uses the water radical with 吉 (good luck), focusing on cleanliness rather than the action of washing. 洄 (huí) means 'to flow back' or 'whirlpool', also with water radical but with 回 (return). Only 淘 conveys the idea of sifting or being naughty, and its right side 匋 is unique to this character.

淘 is most famously used in 淘宝 (Tăobăo), the largest online shopping platform, which literally means 'to hunt for treasures'. It also appears in 淘气 (táoqì) for a naughty child, and 淘米 (táomǐ) for washing rice before cooking. The character captures both playful mischief and the careful action of cleaning through water.

Common words containing 淘 include: 淘宝 (táo bǎo) — Taobao (shopping website); to hunt for treasures; 淘气 (táo qì) — naughty; mischievous; 淘米 (táo mǐ) — to wash rice.