撈 meaning and stroke order
To dredge up; to fish for; to scoop out of the water
How to write 撈, stroke by stroke
15 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 撈
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to fish up
- to dredge up
How 撈 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Hand.
扌 gives the meaning and 勞 hints at the sound.
Radical: 扌 (hand), shared by 342 characters on this site.
How to remember 撈
撈 combines the hand radical 扌 with 勞 (láo, labor), which gives the sound. Picture a hand doing the hard labor of scooping something out of the water.
撈 (lāo) means to scoop or fish something out of liquid, and it also has a casual sense of grabbing a benefit, as in 撈錢 (lāo qián, to rake in money). It appears in words like 打撈 (dǎlāo, to salvage) and the idiom 大海撈針 (dàhǎi lāo zhēn). Example: 他從河裡撈起一條魚。(Tā cóng hé lǐ lāo qǐ yì tiáo yú.) He scooped a fish out of the river.
Common mistake: Learners often read 撈 with the second tone because its phonetic part 勞 is láo, but 撈 is first tone, lāo. Also do not confuse it with 勞 itself, which lacks the hand radical and means labor.
Common words with 撈
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
Questions about 撈
How many strokes are in 撈?
撈 is written with 15 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 撈 mean?
撈 (lāo) means to dredge up; to fish for; to scoop out of the water. A common word with it is 打捞 (dǎlāo), meaning "to salvage; to dredge".
How do you pronounce 撈?
撈 is pronounced lāo, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 撈?
The radical of 撈 is 扌, which carries the idea of "hand". Dictionaries list 撈 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 撈?
撈 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 捞, used in mainland China and Singapore.
What is the difference between 撈 and 捞?
They are the same word. 撈 is the traditional form and 捞 is the simplified form used in mainland China, where the 勞 part is simplified to 劳.
Can 撈 be used outside of water?
Yes. Informally it means to get or grab something, often by questionable means, as in 撈好處 (lāo hǎochù, to grab benefits). This sense can sound negative, so use it carefully.