• 陶器とうき — pottery; ceramic ware
• 陶芸とうげい — ceramics; the art of pottery
• 陶磁器とうじき — china and porcelain; ceramic tableware
• 陶冶とうや — to cultivate or nurture a person’s character
• 陶然とうぜん — to feel pleasantly intoxicated or deeply moved
• ※ すえ is a traditional kun-yomi mainly used in pottery-related words.

The left side 阝 is こざとへん, a hill or place radical that often points to terrain or a site. The right side provides the sound トウ and originally showed piled-up jars. Together, 陶 suggests a place where clay vessels are made and fired — a pottery workshop on a hillside. From shaping clay, the meaning widened to shaping people or feelings, as in 陶冶とうや.