捞 (lāo) is a Chinese character meaning “to take something out of water or another liquid”. It is written from 扌 (hand (radical form)) and 劳 (labor; toil), side by side, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “to fish out; to scoop up”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
扌 + 劳
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字（撈，取也。从手，勞聲）；hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（⿰扌劳，3+7=10 笔）
Memory aid
A hand (扌) beside 劳 "labor": reaching into the water and working hard to fish something out. 劳 is also the sound clue — láo becomes lāo.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 打捞dǎ lāoto salvage; to retrieve from the water捞 = lāo
- 捕捞bǔ lāoto fish for; to catch (fish and other aquatic life)捞 = lāo
Go deeper
All readings
to fish out; to scoop up
to take something out of water or another liquid; to dredge up; to scoop up; to get (something) by improper means
从水或其他液体里取出东西。也指用不正当的手段取得。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 打捞dǎ lāoto salvage; to retrieve from the water捞 = lāo
- 捕捞bǔ lāoto fish for; to catch (fish and other aquatic life)捞 = lāo
Sound component
劳 family tone diff
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 捞 mean?
捞 (lāo) means to take something out of water or another liquid; to dredge up; to scoop up; to get (something) by improper means.
How do you pronounce 捞?
It is pronounced lāo.
What parts is 捞 made of?
扌 (hand (radical form)) and 劳 (labor; toil), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字（撈，取也。从手，勞聲）；hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（⿰扌劳，3+7=10 笔）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 捞 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 捞?
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 捞?
Common ones are 打捞 and 捕捞. The reading of 捞 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.