How to Write 佗 (tuó) — Meaning “a surname; other (archaic)”

Imagine a person (亻) pointing at a snake (the original meaning of 它) and saying 'tuó' to mean 'that other thing over there.' This links the left radical and right component to the sound and the archaic meaning of 'other.' Another trick: think of "Tuo the person" as in the famous doctor Hua Tuo.

Write the left radical 亻 first (two strokes: left-falling stroke and vertical line), then the right part 它 (five strokes: dot, dot, horizontal left-falling hook, vertical, vertical hook). A common mistake is to confuse the bottom of 它 with 七 — the last stroke is a vertical hook (竖弯钩), not a simple hook or a turning stroke. Keep the right component slightly narrower than the left radical.

The key difference is the right side: 佗 uses 它 (meaning 'other'), while 仔 uses 子 (child) and 仕 uses 士 (scholar). Visually, 它 has a top cover shape (宀-like) and a vertical hook at the bottom, while 子 has a curved horizontal stroke and 士 has a simple cross. In meaning, 佗 is only used as a surname or in classical contexts, whereas 仔 means 'young' or 'careful' and 仕 means 'to serve as an official.'

佗 is almost exclusively used today as part of the name 华佗 (Huà Tuó), the legendary ancient Chinese physician. It also appears in very old texts (like classical poetry) meaning 'other' or in the word 佗佗 (elegant), but these are not used in daily conversation. Knowing 佗 helps you recognize the name of one of the most famous figures in Chinese medical history.

Common words containing 佗 include: 华佗 (huà tuó) — Hua Tuo (famous ancient Chinese physician); 佗佗 (tuó tuó) — elegant; graceful (archaic); 委佗 (wěi tuó) — Graceful and easy-going.