Meaning of 拉
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to pull
- to play (a bowed instrument)
- to drag
- to draw
- to chat
- (coll.) to empty one's bowels
- to make a cut in (sth); to slit; to gash; to slash
- used in 拉拉蛄[la4 la4 gu3]
- variant of 落[la4]
How to use 拉
拉 (lā) is the everyday verb for pulling, as opposed to 推 (tuī, to push), and you will see both words on doors in China. It also means playing bowed instruments, as in 拉小提琴 (lā xiǎotíqín, to play the violin). Example: 请拉门。(Qǐng lā mén.) Please pull the door.
拉 has the hand radical 扌 on the left and 立 (lì, to stand) on the right. Picture a hand grabbing someone who is standing and pulling them along.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 拉 (lā, pull) and 推 (tuī, push) on doors, so tie 拉 to pulling toward you. Also note that you 拉 a violin or erhu but 弹 (tán) a piano or guitar, so do not say 拉钢琴.
拉 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
拉 lā · to pull · 8 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 拉.
| 拉开 | lākāi | to pull open; to pull apart |
| 阿拉伯语 | Ālābóyǔ | Arabic (language) |
| 拉拢 | lālǒng | to rope in; fig. to involve sb |
| 拉动 | lādòng | to pull; (fig.) to stimulate (economic activity) |
| 拉锁 | lāsuǒ | zipper |
| 易拉罐 | yìlāguàn | pull-top can; easy-open can (with ring-pull) |
| 卡拉 | Kǎlā | karaoke; (Tw) (of chicken etc) crispy, deep-fried |
| 克拉 | kèlā | carat (mass) (loanword) |
| 沙拉 | shālā | (loanword) salad |
| 拉里 | lālǐ | lari (currency of Georgia) (loanword) |
| 拉屎 | lāshǐ | to defecate; to shit; to crap |
| 阿拉 | Ālā | (Wu dialect) I; me; my; we; us; our |
Questions about 拉
What does 拉 mean?
拉 (lā) means "to pull; to play (a bowed instrument)" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 拉?
拉 is made of 1 character: 拉 (8 strokes). That is 8 strokes in total.
Is 拉 an HSK word?
Yes. 拉 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why does 拉 appear in so many foreign names?
拉 is often used to write the sound "la" in transliterated names, such as 阿拉伯语 (Ālābóyǔ, Arabic). In these words it carries sound only, not the meaning of pulling.
Does 拉 have a rude or slang meaning?
Yes. In casual speech 拉 can mean to go to the bathroom, as in 拉肚子 (lā dùzi, to have diarrhea). It is common and not very rude, but context matters.