偷渡
tōu dù
Pinyin

Definition

偷渡
 - 
tōu dù
  1. illegal immigration
  2. to stowaway (on a ship)
  3. to steal across the international border
  4. to run a blockade

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

偷
tōu
  1. 1 to steal
  2. 2 to pilfer
  3. 3 to snatch
  4. 4 thief
  5. 5 stealthily
偷偷
tōu tōu
  1. 1 stealthily
  2. 2 secretly
  3. 3 covertly
  4. 4 furtively
  5. 5 on the sly
偷笑
tōu xiào
  1. 1 to laugh up one's sleeve
偷吃
tōu chī
  1. 1 to eat on the sly
  2. 2 to pilfer food
  3. 3 to be unfaithful
偷情
tōu qíng
  1. 1 to carry on a clandestine love affair

Idioms (13)

偷天换日
tōu tiān huàn rì
  1. 1 to engage in fraudulent activities (idiom)
  2. 2 skulduggery
  3. 3 to hoodwink people
  4. 4 to cheat sb audaciously
偷工减料
tōu gōng jiǎn liào
  1. 1 to skimp on the job and stint on materials (idiom)
  2. 2 jerry-building
  3. 3 sloppy work
偷梁换柱
tōu liáng huàn zhù
  1. 1 lit. to steal a rafter and replace it with a column
  2. 2 to replace the original with a fake
  3. 3 to perpetrate a fraud (idiom)
偷鸡不成蚀把米
tōu jī bù chéng shí bǎ mǐ
  1. 1 lit. to try to steal a chicken only to end up losing the rice used to lure it (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to try to gain an advantage only to end up worse off
  3. 3 to go for wool and come back shorn
偷鸡摸狗
tōu jī mō gǒu
  1. 1 to imitate the dog and steal chicken (idiom)
  2. 2 to pilfer
  3. 3 to dally with women
  4. 4 to have affairs

Sample Sentences

嗯，很多偷渡者都有很坎坷的经历，一些人被警察逮住，一些人在多地辗转，也有很多人因偷渡而丧命。而偷渡成功的，一般也要过二三十年才能获得绿卡。不过，他们这么做都是为了生计啊。
ng4 ，hěnduō tōudùzhě dōu yǒu hěn kǎnkě de jīnglì ，yīxiē rén bèi jǐngchá dǎizhù ，yīxiē rén zài duō dì zhǎnzhuǎn ，yě yǒu hěnduō rén yīn tōudù ér sàngmìng 。ér tōudù chénggōng de ，yībān yě yào guò èrsānshí nián cáinéng huòdé lǜkǎ 。bùguò ，tāmen zhème zuò dōu shì wèile shēngjì a 。
Yeah, people who get smuggled usually have quite a bumpy ride, some are arrested by police, some get passed through a string of different places, and lots of them lose their lives. And those who arrive at their destination without a hitch have to wait 20-30 years before they can get a green card. But they do all this for the chance of a better life.
Go to Lesson 
为什么要偷渡啊？多危险啊，保不准就在途中命丧黄泉了。
wèishénme yào tōudù a ？duō wēixiǎn a ，bǎobùzhǔn jiù zài túzhōng mìngsànghuángquán le 。
Why do people want to stow away? It’s pretty dangerous and unless you’re careful, you’ll go to Davy Jones’ locker on the way.
Go to Lesson 
你听说过福建有个“偷渡村”吗？那里有很悠久的移民史，从60年代以后，那里有很多人纷纷偷渡去美国打工，所以那个地区的华侨数量多得惊人。
nǐ tīngshuō guò fújiàn yǒu gè “tōudù cūn ”ma ？nàlǐ yǒu hěn yōujiǔ de yímínshǐ ，cóng liùshí niándài yǐhòu ，nàlǐ yǒu hěnduō rén fēnfēn tōudù qù měiguó dǎgōng ，suǒyǐ nàge dìqū de huáqiáo shùliàng duō de jīngrén 。
Do you know that Fujian has a whole village dedicated to people smuggling? There is a long history of emigration from the village, as from the 1960s onwards, batch after batch of people have been smuggled to America to work, resulting in a shocking number of people there who hold American passports.
Go to Lesson 
想想也是，其实和外地人去大城市打工是一个初衷，只是那些人是通过偷渡去“洋打工”了。
xiǎngxiang yěshì ，qíshí hé wàidìrén qù dàchéngshì dǎgōng shì yī gè chūzhōng ，zhǐshì nàxiē rén shì tōngguò tōudù qù “yángdǎgōng ”le 。
Thinking about it, you’re right, it’s like the aspirations migrant workers have when they take jobs in cities away from home, it’s just that these people have to be smuggled into the West to work.
Go to Lesson 
早些年那地方的农民就算一年到头辛苦种田，也还是过着非常穷苦的生活。虽然成功偷渡的人在海外的工资也很微薄，但是换算成人民币就很可观了，他们省吃俭用把赚的外汇寄回老家，让家人过上比较好的物质生活。
zǎo xiē nián nà dìfang de nóngmín jiùsuàn yī nián dào tóu xīnkǔ zhòngtián ，yě háishì guò zhe fēicháng qióngkǔ de shēnghuó 。suīrán chénggōng tōudù de rén zài hǎiwài de gōngzī yě hěn wēibó ，dànshì huànsuàn chéng rénmínbì jiù hěn kěguān le ，tāmen shěngchījiǎnyòng bǎ zhuàn de wàihuì jì huí lǎojiā ，ràng jiārén guòshang bǐjiào hǎo de wùzhì shēnghuó 。
Before, even though peasants in the village worked hard on the land the year through, they still lived incredibly impoverished lives. Although the wages of those who were successfully smuggled abroad were meager, they were equivalent to quite a considerable sum in renminbi, and they often lived frugally, saving up money to send back home, allowing their families to enjoy a better quality of life.
Go to Lesson 
是很可怜，不过这些年，那里很多人都通过亲属移民的方式去海外和早年偷渡的亲人团聚。
shì hěn kělián ，bùguò zhèxiēnián ，nàlǐ hěnduō rén dōu tōngguò qīnshǔyímín de fāngshì qù hǎiwài hé zǎonián tōudù de qīnrén tuánjù 。
Yes, it’s a pity, but more recently, many people there have emigrated through their relations and been reunited with their family members who stowed away many years before.
Go to Lesson 
这也算是不错的结局啊。现在我能理解朝鲜人偷渡到中国的行为了。
zhè yě suànshì bùcuò de jiéjú a 。xiànzài wǒ néng lǐjiě cháoxiǎn rén tōudù dào zhōngguó de xíngwéi le 。
It’s not a bad end to the story I guess. Now I understand why North Koreans sneak over the border into China.
Go to Lesson 
哎，你也算高科技人才了，这样出国我还能理解。可我不懂为什么那么多人要挤破头偷渡出国或者到国外去当廉价劳动力，不仅语言不通，还很辛苦，这样是为什么呢？难道国外真的是遍地黄金吗？
āi ，nǐ yě suàn gāokējì réncái le ，zhèyàng chūguó wǒ hái něng lǐjiě 。kě wǒ bù dǒng wèishénme nàme duō rén yào jǐ pò tóu tōudù chūguó huòzhě dào guówài qù dāng liánjià láodònglì ，bùjǐn yǔyán bùtōng ，hái hěn xīnkǔ ，zhèyàng shì wèishénme ne ？nándào guówài zhēnde shì biàndì huángjīn ma ？
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