讨

Tap the pinyin to hear it

to invite; to provoke; to demand or ask for; to send armed forces to suppress; to denounce or condemn; to marry (a woman); to discuss or study

Sound it out + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Ideographic compound (会意字)

To ask 讠 for something 寸

Components 讠寸

condemn · Heisig RSH #351

words + glue

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
公开讨论会	gōng kāi tǎo lùn huì	open forum
吃力不讨好	chī lì bù tǎo hǎo	arduous and thankless task (idiom); strenuous and unrewarding
费力不讨好	fèi lì bù tǎo hǎo	arduous and thankless task (idiom); strenuous and unrewarding
自讨苦吃	zì tǎo kǔ chī	(idiom) to ask for trouble; to make a rod for one's own back
讨生活	tǎo shēng huó	to eke out a living; to live from hand to mouth; to drift aimlessly
讨论区	tǎo lùn qū	forum (esp. online); discussion area; feedback
东征西讨	dōng zhēng xī tǎo	war on all sides (idiom); fighting from all four quarters
东讨西征	dōng tǎo xī zhēng	war on all sides (idiom); fighting from all four quarters
讨论会	tǎo lùn huì	symposium; discussion forum
南征北讨	nán zhēng běi tǎo	war on all sides (idiom); fighting from all four quarters
讨底儿	tǎo dǐ r	erhua variant of 討底\|讨底[tao3 di3]
讨人	tǎo rén	(old) girl trafficked into a brothel to work as prostitute
讨小	tǎo xiǎo	(coll.) to take a concubine
讨海	tǎo hǎi	to make one's living from the sea
讨平	tǎo píng	to put down (an uprising); to pacify
讨论班	tǎo lùn bān	seminar; workshop
拼命讨好	pīn mìng tǎo hǎo	to throw oneself at sb or sth; to bend over backwards to help
讨教	tǎo jiào	to consult; to ask for advice
讨人喜欢	tǎo rén xǐ huan	to attract people's affection; charming; delightful
讨好	tǎo hǎo	to get the desired outcome; to win favor by fawning on sb; to curry favor with; a fruitful…