淘
select
Readings
On'yomi
- トウ
Kun'yomi
- よな.げる
Meaning
淘 centers on the act of selecting by washing or sifting, as in panning for gold or rinsing rice to separate the good from the unwanted.
Most common words using 淘
- 淘汰とうた
weeding out; elimination (e.g. of unneeded employees); culling; selection
- 自然淘汰しぜんとうた
natural selection
- 人員淘汰じんいんとうた
personnel reduction
- 人為淘汰じんいとうた
artificial selection
- 性淘汰せいとうた
sexual selection
- 整理淘汰せいりとうた
reorganizing an industry or enterprise and weeding out redundant workers; readjustment and retrenchment
- 淘げるよなげる
to separate and discard; to sieve and sort; to wash out (impurities, etc.)
- 淘宝網タオバオワン
Taobao (Chinese online shopping platform)
- 淘汰作用とうたさよう
sifting out; weeding out; selection; sorting
- 社会淘汰しゃかいとうた
social selection
- 血縁淘汰けつえんとうた
kin selection
- 雌雄淘汰しゆうとうた
sexual selection
Study
Etymology
淘 combines 氵 (water) with 匋, which likely contributes the sound トウ and relates to pottery or a container, suggesting washing or sifting materials in water.
Meaning mnemonic
Water 氵 on the left and 匋 (like a pot or container) on the right: imagine rinsing grains in a pot, swirling water to select and wash away impurities.
Reading mnemonic
For トウ, picture a toe dipping into the water as you swirl the pot to select the good grains: toe -> トウ.