掉 Stroke Order — How to Write 掉

Stroke Order

掉 is written in 11 strokes, following the standard Chinese stroke order. Start from the radical 扌, then complete the remaining strokes.

Stroke order matters in Chinese: it keeps the character balanced, and it is how dictionaries and handwriting input methods expect a character to be written.

掉 Radical and Character Components

Components:扌卓

掉 is a phono-semantic compound: 扌 (hand) carries the meaning, while 卓 indicates the sound.

Radical: 扌 + 8 more strokes

掉 Pronunciation and Pinyin

diào

Meanings of 掉 in Chinese

diào掉

to fall; to drop; to shed (tears, hair, etc.)

他因为不小心把手机掉在地上。

He accidentally dropped his phone on the ground.

To decrease, to lose, or to fade, often referring to quality or color.

这件衣服洗了几次，有点掉色了

This piece of clothing has been washed several times and has faded a bit.

To lose, drop, or omit (e.g., a word, an item).

他写作业时，不小心掉了一个字。

When he was doing his homework, he accidentally omitted a character.

To turn around; to reverse direction.

司机发现走错了路，赶紧掉头

The driver realized he had taken the wrong road and quickly turned around.

To sway, to show off, or to treat lightly, as in lowering one's guard.

对学习不能掉以轻心，要认真对待。

One should not take studies lightly; they must be treated seriously.

To exchange or swap; to replace something with another.

我们把两件商品的颜色掉换了。

We swapped the colors of the two products.

To fall behind; to lag behind others in progress or a group.

他总是保持进度，从来不掉队。

He always keeps up with the pace and never falls behind.

Used after a verb to indicate the completion of an action, often implying something is removed or gotten rid of.

我终于改掉了晚睡的坏习惯。

I finally broke the bad habit of staying up late.

Common Words and Phrases with 掉

diào掉bāo包

To secretly or stealthily substitute one thing for another, often implying an inferior or fake item for a genuine one.

他趁店员不注意，把那件便宜的衬衫和柜台上的名牌货掉包了

He secretly swapped the cheap shirt for the designer one on the counter when the clerk wasn't looking.

diào掉biāo膘

to lose weight (of livestock)

冬天天气寒冷，农户要格外注意牲畜的保暖和饲料，防止它们掉膘

In cold winter weather, farmers must pay special attention to keeping their livestock warm and providing adequate feed to prevent them from losing weight.

diào掉duì队

To fall behind the group or not keep up with the progress.

在长跑比赛中，小明因为体力不支，渐渐掉队了

In the long-distance race, Xiao Ming gradually fell behind because of lack of stamina.

diào掉huàn换

To change, exchange, or replace something; to shift or swop positions.

你需要把这个损坏的零件掉换掉。

You need to replace this damaged part.

diào掉shǎi色

To lose color; to fade.

这件新买的牛仔裤洗了几次就掉色了，把其他衣服也染上颜色了。

This newly bought pair of jeans faded after a few washes and stained other clothes.

diào掉shū书dài袋

To parade one's learning by making excessive quotations from ancient books or literary allusions in speech or writing.

那位教授在讲座中总是喜欢掉书袋，让非专业人士听起来有点吃力。

That professor always likes to show off his erudition by quoting classical texts in his lectures, making it a bit difficult for non-specialists to follow.

diào掉tóu头

To turn around or reverse direction.