The character 毒 — “poison”: how to write it and what it means

毒
dú

poison; poisonous

9 strokes · HSK 6 · word page

The Chinese character 毒 is read dú and means “poison; poisonous”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.

Stroke order: how to write 毒

毒 has 9 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.

To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 毒, with strokes to trace and empty squares.

What 毒 is made of

Below, 母. 病毒 — a virus, 消毒 — to disinfect.

The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.

Words with 毒

Frequently asked questions

How do you write the character 毒?

毒 has 9 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.

What does 毒 mean?

毒 means “poison; poisonous”. It appears in 病毒 (“virus”), 中毒 (“be poisoned”), 消毒 (“disinfect”).

How do you pronounce 毒?

毒 is read dú. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.

How many strokes does 毒 have?

9 strokes.

← 痒 itch患 suffer →

More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.

Write 毒 yourself

In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.

Start for free