摘 meaning in English

zhāi

to take; to pick (flowers, fruit etc); to pluck; to remove; to take off (glasses, hat etc); to select; to pick out

HSK 5verb14 strokes

Meaning of 摘

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

zhāi

to take; to pick (flowers, fruit etc); to pluck; to remove; to take off (glasses, hat etc)
to select; to pick out
to borrow money at a time of urgent need

How to use 摘

摘 (zhāi) is used for picking fruit or flowers and for taking off things you wear, like glasses, hats, or masks. It also means to pick out key parts, as in 摘要 (zhāiyào) summary. Example: 请把帽子摘下来。(Qǐng bǎ màozi zhāi xiàlái.) Please take off your hat.

摘 has the hand radical 扌 on the left, so think of a hand reaching up to pick something. Picture your hand plucking fruit from a branch or pulling glasses off your face.

Common mistake: Learners often use 脱 (tuō) and 摘 the same way. 脱 is for clothes and shoes you pull off the body, like 脱衣服, while 摘 is for things that are hung or worn on the head or face, like 摘眼镜 (zhāi yǎnjìng). Also keep the first tone. It is zhāi, not zhái.

摘 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

她tā给gěi我wǒ摘zhāi了le一yí个gè苹píng果guǒ。

She picked me an apple.

把bǎ你nǐ们men的de帽mào子zi摘zhāi下xià来lái。

Take off your hats.

汤tāng姆mǔ摘zhāi了le一yī些xiē苹píng果guǒ。

Tom picked some apples.

请qǐng您nín摘zhāi下xià您nín的de帽mào子zi。

Please take off your hat.

男nán孩hái在zài摘zhāi黄huáng色sè的de花huā。

The boy is picking yellow flowers.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

摘 zhāi · to take · 14 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 摘.

摘下	zhāixià	to take off; to remove (one's hat, a door from its hinges etc); to pick (a piece of fruit
采摘	cǎizhāi	to pluck; to pick
摘要	zhāiyào	summary; abstract

Questions about 摘

What does 摘 mean?

摘 (zhāi) means "to take; to pick (flowers, fruit etc); to pluck; to remove; to take off (glasses, hat etc); to select; to pick out" and is used as a verb.

How do you write 摘?

摘 is made of 1 character: 摘 (14 strokes). That is 14 strokes in total.

Is 摘 an HSK word?

Yes. 摘 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 摘 different from 采 (cǎi) for picking flowers?

Both can mean to pick, and they combine in 采摘 (cǎizhāi). 摘 is the everyday spoken word, as in 摘苹果 (zhāi píngguǒ). 采 sounds more formal or is used for gathering, like 采茶 (cǎi chá) picking tea.

Can 摘 mean to quote or excerpt text?

Yes. 摘 can mean to select or pick out parts of a text. You see it in 摘要 (zhāiyào) abstract and 摘录 (zhāilù) to excerpt.