读 (dú) — to read (aloud); to study

读 (dú)

读 primarily means to read aloud or to read text, and also means to study or attend school. It differs from 看 (kàn), which means to look at or read silently. 读书 can mean either "read a book" or "go to school/study."

Meanings

1. [verb] To read (aloud or with attention).
2. [verb] To study, to attend school (in 读书 or 读大学).

Example Sentences

请跟我读这个句子。 Qǐng gēn wǒ dú zhège jùzi. Please read this sentence after me.

他在读大学。 Tā zài dú dàxué. He is studying at university.

我每天读一段英语文章。 Wǒ měitiān dú yī duàn Yīngyǔ wénzhāng. I read an English passage every day.

这个字怎么读？ Zhège zì zěnme dú? How do you read/pronounce this character?

Collocations

Memory Hook

读 has the speech radical (讠) on the left, because reading aloud is producing speech from written text.