捡 (jiǎn) is a Chinese character meaning “to pick up”. It is written from 扌 (hand (radical form)) and 佥 (all; everyone (classical); in 俭 it carries the sound), side by side, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “to pick up”
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Structure
扌 + 佥
Left–right structure
- 扌 hand (radical form) · shǒu meaning
- 佥 all; everyone (classical); in 俭 it carries the sound · qiān sound
Structure from: 现代字形拆分：捡 = 扌(手) + 佥；Unicode kRSUnicode 64.7 radical 64 (手)；hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：0–2 笔为扌(3 画)，3–9 笔为佥(7 画)，合计 10 画
Memory aid
扌 on the left is a hand. 佥 on the right means "all". A hand reaching down to gather them all up off the ground — that is to pick up.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 捡起jiǎn qǐto pick up (from the ground)捡 = jiǎnspoken asjián qǐ
- 捡到jiǎn dàoto find (something lying around); to pick up捡 = jiǎn
Go deeper
All readings
to pick up
to pick up; to collect; to gather; to find (something lost)
拾取，把东西从地上拿起来；也指意外得到。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 捡起jiǎn qǐto pick up (from the ground)捡 = jiǎnspoken asjián qǐ
- 捡到jiǎn dàoto find (something lying around); to pick up捡 = jiǎn
Sound component
佥 family
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 捡 mean?
捡 (jiǎn) means to pick up; to collect; to gather; to find (something lost).
How do you pronounce 捡?
It is pronounced jiǎn.
What parts is 捡 made of?
扌 (hand (radical form)) and 佥 (all; everyone (classical); in 俭 it carries the sound), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分：捡 = 扌(手) + 佥；Unicode kRSUnicode 64.7 radical 64 (手)；hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：0–2 笔为扌(3 画)，3–9 笔为佥(7 画)，合计 10 画. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 捡 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 捡?
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 捡?
Common ones are 捡起 and 捡到. The reading of 捡 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.