橐

tuó

A sack or bag open at both ends; bellows.

Meaning

A textile bag or sack, characterized as tubular (open at both ends).

1. General/Travel: A pouch or sleeve-like bag for carrying items.

2. Technical: Bellows (橐鞯), specifically the expandable leather or cloth chamber used to push air in metallurgy or fire management.

Grammar and usage

Almost exclusively nominal. Rare early usage as a verb meaning "to contain" or "to enclose."

Distinctions

Contrast with 囊 (náng): While both denote bags/pouches, 囊 typically refers to a container with a closure, whereas 橐 emphasizes tubularity and the capacity for airflow.

History and forms

Tang-period reading: tɑk; Fanqie: 他各. Semantic variant: 囊 (U+69D6).

Decontextualized translator aid. This page describes plausible lexical range; it does not choose what the glyph means in a particular passage.