握 (wò) is a Chinese character meaning “to grasp”. It is written from 扌 (hand (radical form)) and 屋 (house, room), side by side, and takes 12 strokes.
Build the character for “to grasp; to hold”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
扌 + 屋
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字（握，搤持也。从手屋聲）
Memory aid
A hand (扌) beside a house (屋) — picture closing your hand tightly around the door handle of the house: 握 is to grip.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
12 strokes
In real words
- 握手wò shǒuto shake hands握 = wò
- 把握bǎ wòto grasp; to seize (an opportunity); assurance; certainty握 = wò
Go deeper
All readings
to grasp; to hold
to grasp; to hold in the hand; to grip; to have control of
用手攥住、拿住；也引申为掌控。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 握手wò shǒuto shake hands握 = wò
- 把握bǎ wòto grasp; to seize (an opportunity); assurance; certainty握 = wò
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 握 mean?
握 (wò) means to grasp; to hold in the hand; to grip; to have control of.
How do you pronounce 握?
It is pronounced wò.
What parts is 握 made of?
扌 (hand (radical form)) and 屋 (house, room), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字（握，搤持也。从手屋聲）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 握 have?
12. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 握?
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 握?
Common ones are 握手 and 把握. The reading of 握 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.