Today’s word of the day is 偷 (tōu) which means ‘to steal’. Let’s practice by making different words, phrases, and sentences with 偷 (tōu).
偷懒 (tōu lǎn) To be lazy
The first word is 偷懒 (tōu lǎn) which means ‘to be lazy’. Let’s look at each character of this word, 偷 means to steal and 懒 (lǎn) means lazy. It literally means to steal a moment of laziness. A way of using it in a sentence is 他做事从不偷懒。(Tā zuòshì cóng bù tōulǎn.) He is never lazy in doing things.
偷笑 (tōu xiào) To chuckle
Another word we can create with 偷 (tōu) is 偷笑 (tōu xiào). This means to chuckle. Let’s again look at each character of this word, 偷 means to steal and 笑means to laugh, so it means to steal a laugh. A way of using it in a sentence is 我都忍不住偷笑了。(Wǒ dōu rěn bú zhù tōu xiàole.) I couldn’t help but chuckle.
小偷 (xiǎo tōu) Thief
Finally, we can create the word 小偷 (xiǎo tōu) which means thief. The 小 here means little, so literally ‘little steal’. A way of using it in a sentence is 这里有小偷。 (Zhè lǐ yǒu xiǎotōu.) There are thieves around here.