Explore 盗 in words about theft and connect each reading with a complete word.

The idea

盗 has 11 strokes; follow the linked diagram. 盗む（ぬすむ） is a verb; 盗難（とうなん） means theft, and 泥棒（どろぼう） means thief. The reading トウ appears in 盗難.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingExample in context
盗むぬすむSomeone stole my bicycle.
盗難とうなんI reported the theft to the police.
泥棒どろぼうThe police caught the thief.

Examples

  • 誰だれかが私わたしの自転車じてんしゃを盗ぬすみました。Someone stole my bicycle.
  • 泥棒どろぼうが店みせからお金かねを盗ぬすみました。The thief stole money from the shop.
  • 盗難とうなんを警察けいさつに届とどけました。I reported the theft to the police.
  • 盗難とうなんを防ふせぐために、ドアに鍵かぎをかけてください。Please lock the door to prevent theft.
  • 彼女かのじょのかばんが駅えきで盗ぬすまれました。Her bag was stolen at the station.
  • 警察けいさつが泥棒どろぼうを捕つかまえました。The police caught the thief.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

盗む means to steal, while 取る can simply mean to take. 泥棒 is read どろぼう as a whole word, not with トウ.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 盗む in hiragana.

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    ぬすむ

    盗む is ぬすむ: the verb means to steal. The む is part of the reading.

  2. Write the reading of 盗難 in hiragana.

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    とうなん

    盗難 is とうなん, a noun for theft. Learn the compound as a whole.

  3. Choose the missing kanji: ＿難（とうなん）［盗／取］.

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    盗

    盗 completes 盗難（とうなん）, meaning theft; 取 does not form this word.

Use it today

Write 盗 using the diagram, cover the table, and read 盗む and 盗難. Make a sentence with one of them.