抠 (kōu) is a Chinese character meaning “to dig or pick out with a finger”. It is written from 扌 (hand (radical form)) and 区 (area, district), side by side, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “to dig or pick out with a finger”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
扌 + 区
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字（摳，繑也。从手區聲）；简化字 抠 对应 摳，笔画 3+4 与 hanzi-writer-data 的 7 笔字形一致
Memory aid
A hand (扌) reaching into a walled-off district (区) to pick something out of the corner — 抠 is the finger digging, picking, scraping at a small spot.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 抠门kōu ménstingy; tight-fisted抠 = kōu
Go deeper
All readings
to dig or pick out with a finger
to dig or pick out with a finger; to scratch at; to carve; (figuratively) to be stingy, or to fuss over tiny details
用手指或细长的东西挖、掏、抓；引申指过分小气，或死抠细节。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 抠门kōu ménstingy; tight-fisted抠 = kōu
Sound component
区 family onset shift
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 抠 mean?
抠 (kōu) means to dig or pick out with a finger; to scratch at; to carve; (figuratively) to be stingy, or to fuss over tiny details.
How do you pronounce 抠?
It is pronounced kōu.
What parts is 抠 made of?
扌 (hand (radical form)) and 区 (area, district), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字（摳，繑也。从手區聲）；简化字 抠 对应 摳，笔画 3+4 与 hanzi-writer-data 的 7 笔字形一致. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 抠 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 抠?
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 抠?
Common ones are 抠门. The reading of 抠 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.