搂 (lōu) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

搂

lōu[lou1]Tone 1

to draw towards oneself, to hug, to embrace

HSK 7

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摟

Multiple Readings (多音字):

Guru Deep Dive

English · to draw towards oneself, to hug, to embrace

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:13

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (扌) should be compact and compressed to the left, leaving ample room for the complex right component (娄).

Simplification Logic: The traditional form (摟) and simplified form (搂) share the same structure, utilizing the standard hand radical 扌.

1. Meaning

to hug, to embrace, to put one's arm around someone

to gather up (one's gown or sleeves)to rake together or scoop upto extort or grab money illicitly

VerbColloquial#physical action#emotions#human interaction

Sample Usage

他搂着他的孩子。
Tā lōu zhe tā de háizi.
He is hugging his child.
把袖子搂起来。
Bǎ xiùzi lōu qǐ lái.
Gather up your sleeves.

2. Sound

/[loʊ̯⁵⁵]/Tone: 55

搂

lōulou1

¯(55)

=lōu

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

lou

Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "o" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).

Initial Consonant

Type: Alveolar Lateral

Sounds like: l sound as in 'love'

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Air flows freely around both sides of tongue.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tip of the tongue touches the alveolar ridge right behind the upper front teeth.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -o vowel group

Sounds like: -ou rhymes with 'oh' or 'soul'

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'oh'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T1 (55)

5 → 5 (55)

1st Tone (High-Flat)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 stays flat and high at the top of your vocal range, like singing a sustained high note.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the high level tone (Tone 1, lōu) with the rising tone (Tone 2, lóu 'tower') or dipping tone (Tone 3, lǒu 'to hold in both arms').

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A flat, high hand gesture held horizontally in the air, matching the high level pitch of Tone 1.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 13 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (扌) should be compact and compressed to the left, leaving ample room for the complex right component (娄).

Simplification Logic: The traditional form (摟) and simplified form (搂) share the same structure, utilizing the standard hand radical 扌.

4. Components

Radical 扌 · Hand Radical (Hand actions, touching, manipulating)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 扌 (Indicates that the action is performed using the hands (hugging, gathering).)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 娄 (original sound: lóu)

A HAND (扌) reaches out to wrap around something and bring it close, guided by the phonetic sound component 娄.

扌 Hand action
娄 Phonetic indicator (lóu)

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

19· Phonetic Root: 娄 (lóu)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from the signific for hand (扌) and the phonetic element 娄 (lóu, meaning to bind or tie together), reflecting the action of gathering things into one's arms.

Semantic Evolution: Originally denoting gathering or tying up, it extended to physical wrapping, hugging someone in one's arms, and later colloquial senses like scooping up money.

The phonetic component 娄 also appears in other characters related to twisting or gathering.

6. Sinosphere

Sound Shift Bridge: The pinyin 'lōu' maps conceptually to English action verbs involving pulling close or embracing.

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

With your HAND (扌) you reach out to LOUDLY (lōu) call your friend into a warm embrace, pulling them close to your chest.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

娄

lóusurname Lou; one of the 28 lunar mansions in Chinese astronomyPhonetic Core (声旁)

楼

lóustoried building+ 木 (tree)

数

shǔto count+ 攵 (strike)

屡

lǚrepeatedly+ 尸 (body)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

楼(lóu)

楼 uses the tree/wood radical (木) for multi-story wooden buildings, while 搂 uses the hand radical (扌) for hugging.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

妈妈把生病的孩子[___]在怀里。

Clue: lōu

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the tone with lóu (Tone 2) or miswriting the right-side component 娄 by missing strokes.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 搂 with the hand radical (扌), what primary physical action does it represent?

Production: How do you write the character for 'to hug/embrace' (lōu) using the hand radical and the phonetic component?

搂lōuto draw towards oneself, to hug, to embrace

Speed:

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