图
Character Story & Explanation
In daily life across China, 图 appears ubiquitously: subway station maps (地铁图, dìtiě tú) in Guangzhou, weather radar displays (天气图, tiānqì tú) on CCTV News, and QR code-based health code interfaces (健康码图, jiànkāngmǎ tú) during pandemic-era travel. The idiom 按图索骥 (àn tú suǒ jì, 'to look for a fine horse according to a picture') — documented since the Han dynasty — warns against rigidly following diagrams without critical thinking, reflecting its long-standing association with representation versus reality.
The character 图 originated as a pictograph in early seal script (c. 3rd century BCE): it combined 囗 (a boundary) with 君 (jūn, later simplified to ‘×’ and ‘乂’) representing structured content inside — not a literal picture, but a symbolic enclosure of meaning. Modern form retains this conceptual framing: a diagram is knowledge bounded and made visible.
The character 图 (tú) evokes the image of a bounded, organized representation — fittingly enclosed by its radical 囗 (wéi), meaning 'enclosure' or 'boundary'. This reflects its core meaning: a diagram, map, or illustration that frames information visually. In modern Chinese, it’s indispensable for education, navigation, and data communication — from subway route maps in Beijing to scientific schematics in Shanghai labs.
图 appears in countless compound words, always implying visual or conceptual representation. Unlike abstract terms like 理 (lǐ, 'reason'), 图 conveys something tangible and spatial — a blueprint, a mental model, or even an aspiration (as in 宏图, hóngtú, 'grand plan'). Its eight-stroke structure is clean and balanced, mirroring the clarity diagrams aim to provide.
At HSK Level 3, 图 marks a pivotal step into academic and functional literacy. Learners encounter it in textbooks, apps, and public signage — especially where spatial understanding matters. Its radical 囗 signals containment, hinting that a 'diagram' organizes ideas within defined limits, much like a map confines geography or a flowchart structures logic.
Example Sentences
Common Compounds
Similar Characters — Don't Mix These Up
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