Dong Chinese dictionary

tōu

to steal

Phonosemantic compound. 亻 represents the meaning and 俞 represents the sound.

Components

亻 Meaning component

rén

person

亻 is a component form of 人.

俞 Sound component

yú, shù

surname

偷 and 俞 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in older Chinese.偷 /*l̥ˤo/
俞 /*lo/

Evolution

Clerical script

Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical script

Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Seal script

Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Regular script

Modern

Definitions

tōu

to steal, burglar, thief; to steal; to pilfer; to snatch; thief; stealthily

Most common words with 偷

Freq.	Word	Meaning
	偷	to steal
	偷偷	stealthily
	小偷	thief
	偷拍	to take a picture of a person without permission or without their knowledge
	偷窃	to steal

Sources