Character breakdown
Study each Hanzi separately, then return to the complete word so pronunciation, meaning, and movement stay connected.
How to learn 涂炭
Listen once without reading, repeat the pinyin with its tones, then write every character in sequence. Finally, recall the complete meaning instead of memorizing each character as an isolated translation.
When the word appears in a sentence, check whether its part of speech and meaning match the definition shown here. Chinese words can change nuance with context.
Words with the same characters
Compare how a familiar Hanzi changes meaning inside another word.
muddled; silly; confused
煤炭méitàncoal
炭tànwood charcoal; coal
涂túsurname Tu; to apply (paint etc); to smear; to daub; to blot out; to scribble; to scrawl; (literary) mud; street; variant of 途[tu2]
一塌糊涂yìtāhútúmuddled and completely collapsing (idiom); in an awful condition; complete shambles; a total mess
涂抹tú mǒto paint; to smear; to apply (makeup etc); to doodle; to erase