拖 (tuō) is a Chinese character meaning “to drag”. It is written from 扌 (hand (radical form)) and 㐌 (rare character used as the phonetic part of 拖 / 施), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “to drag; to pull along”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
扌 + 㐌
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「扌」3 画，笔画 3–7 为「㐌」5 画）
Memory aid
A hand (扌) hooks onto 㐌 and hauls it along the ground — 拖 is to drag something behind you.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 拖鞋tuō xiéslippers拖 = tuō
- 拖延tuō yánto delay; to procrastinate拖 = tuō
- 拖拽tuō zhuàito drag; to drag and drop拖 = tuō
Go deeper
All readings
to drag
to drag; to pull along; to haul; to drag out (in time), to delay
拉着物体使它沿着地面移动；也指把事情往后拖延，不及时办。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 拖鞋tuō xiéslippers拖 = tuō
- 拖延tuō yánto delay; to procrastinate拖 = tuō
- 拖拽tuō zhuàito drag; to drag and drop拖 = tuō
Sound component
㐌 family tone diff
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 拖 mean?
拖 (tuō) means to drag; to pull along; to haul; to drag out (in time), to delay.
How do you pronounce 拖?
It is pronounced tuō.
What parts is 拖 made of?
扌 (hand (radical form)) and 㐌 (rare character used as the phonetic part of 拖 / 施), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「扌」3 画，笔画 3–7 为「㐌」5 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 拖 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 拖?
手. 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 拖?
Common ones are 拖鞋 and 拖延. The reading of 拖 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.