抬 (tái) is a Chinese character meaning “to lift”. It is written from 扌 (hand (radical form)) and 台 (platform; terrace (in 冶 it carries the sound)), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “to lift; to raise”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
扌 + 台
Left–right structure
- 扌 hand (radical form) · shǒu meaning
- 台 platform; terrace (in 冶 and 苔 it carries the sound) · tái sound
Structure from: Unicode U+62AC 现代字形与笔顺数据（8 画 = 扌 3 画 + 台 5 画）；扌 为义符，台 tái 与本字 tái 声母韵母声调全同，作声符
Memory aid
A hand (扌) pushing a platform (台) upward: you lift it.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 抬头tái tóuto raise one's head; to look up抬 = tái
- 抬起tái qǐto lift up (an arm, a lid, a box)抬 = tái
Go deeper
All readings
to lift; to raise
to lift; to raise; to carry (something heavy) together with another person
用手或胳膊把东西向上举起；两人或多人一起搬运。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 抬头tái tóuto raise one's head; to look up抬 = tái
- 抬起tái qǐto lift up (an arm, a lid, a box)抬 = tái
Sound component
台 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 抬 mean?
抬 (tái) means to lift; to raise; to carry (something heavy) together with another person.
How do you pronounce 抬?
It is pronounced tái.
What parts is 抬 made of?
扌 (hand (radical form)) and 台 (platform; terrace (in 冶 it carries the sound)), side by side. The recorded source is: Unicode U+62AC 现代字形与笔顺数据（8 画 = 扌 3 画 + 台 5 画）；扌 为义符，台 tái 与本字 tái 声母韵母声调全同，作声符. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 抬 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 抬?
扌. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 抬?
Common ones are 抬头 and 抬起. The reading of 抬 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.