摳 (kōu) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

摳

kōu[kou1]Tone 1

to dig, pick, scratch, or be stingy

HSK 7

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抠

Guru Deep Dive

English · to dig, pick, scratch, or be stingy

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:12

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (hand component) should be narrower and slightly higher than the right phonetic component to maintain structural harmony.

Simplification Logic: The traditional character 摳 was simplified by replacing the complex right-hand side component with a simpler phonetic shorthand while retaining the hand radical.

1. Meaning

to dig or scoop out with a finger or pointed object

to carve or cut outto study meticulously or split hairsstingy or miserlyto lift up the hem of a robe

Verb, AdjectiveColloquial#physical action#personality trait#manual dexterity

Sample Usage

他用手指抠鼻子。
tā yòng shǒuzhǐ kōu bízi.
He is picking his nose with his finger.
这个人花钱太抠了。
zhè gè rén huā qián tài kōu le.
This person is too stingy with money.

2. Sound

/[kʰoʊ̯˥˥]/Tone: 55

摳

kōukou1

¯(55)

=kōu

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

kou

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: Aspirated Velar

Sounds like: k sound like in the English word 'kite'

Aspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Strong gust of air from throat! Tissue held in front MUST fly forward.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Back of the tongue touches the soft palate, releasing a burst of air.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -o vowel group

Sounds like: -ou rhymes with oh/ode

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 is a high, steady pitch, exactly like humming a constant high note when you are surprised.

👂

Listening trap: Do not confuse the high level tone 1 with the dipping tone 3; pronouncing it with a dip completely changes the word's contour and can sound muddy.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Keep your hand completely flat and high in the air at eye level, making a straight horizontal chop gesture from left to right.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 12 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (hand component) should be narrower and slightly higher than the right phonetic component to maintain structural harmony.

Simplification Logic: The traditional character 摳 was simplified by replacing the complex right-hand side component with a simpler phonetic shorthand while retaining the hand radical.

4. Components

Radical 扌 · Hand Radical (actions performed with the hand)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 扌 (indicates an action performed using fingers or hands)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 區 (original sound: qu / ou)

A hand (扌) reaches into an area or district (區) to dig something out or scratch around.

扌 Hand radical indicating manual action
區 Provides the sound clue 'ou'

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

15· Phonetic Root: 區

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from the hand radical (扌) showing physical action and 區 providing the phonetic reading, originally denoting the act of digging out with fingers.

Semantic Evolution: Extended from physical digging with fingers to metaphorical digging into details, studying meticulously, and further to holding tightly onto money (being stingy).

Colloquially used in modern Mandarin for tight-fisted behavior.

6. Sinosphere

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

You use your HAND (扌) to dig into a small AREA (區) to KOU (抠) out a hidden treasure.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

區

Phonetic Core (声旁)

嘔

+ 口 (mouth)

嶇

+ 山 (mountain)

慪

+ 忄 (heart)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

欧(ōu)

欧 uses the mouth radical (口) instead of the hand radical (扌).

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

他太[___]了，連請客都不願意。

Clue: kōu

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the hand radical (扌) with other similar left-side radicals or mixing up tone 1 with tone 3.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does 抠 mean when used to describe a person's spending habits?

Production: How do you write the character for 'to dig / stingy' (kōu) with 12 strokes?

摳kōuto dig, pick, scratch, or be stingy

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