抽 (chōu) is a Chinese character meaning “to pull out”. It is written from 扌 (hand (radical form)) and 由 (from; by way of; cause), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “to pull out”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
扌 + 由
Left–right structure
Structure from: ids-decomposition (现代字形 ⿰扌由，3+5=8 笔与 hanzi-writer-data 笔顺一致)
Memory aid
A hand (扌) at the side of a drawer (由) — reach in and pull something out.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 抽烟chōu yānto smoke (a cigarette)抽 = chōu
- 抽屉chōu tìdrawer抽 = chōuspoken aschōu ti
- 抽泣chōu qìto sob抽 = chōu
Go deeper
All readings
to pull out
to pull out; to draw out; to take out from between; to smoke (a cigarette)
把夹在中间的东西拉出来；也指吸（烟）。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 抽烟chōu yānto smoke (a cigarette)抽 = chōu
- 抽屉chōu tìdrawer抽 = chōuspoken aschōu ti
- 抽泣chōu qìto sob抽 = chōu
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 抽 mean?
抽 (chōu) means to pull out; to draw out; to take out from between; to smoke (a cigarette).
How do you pronounce 抽?
It is pronounced chōu.
What parts is 抽 made of?
扌 (hand (radical form)) and 由 (from; by way of; cause), side by side. The recorded source is: ids-decomposition (现代字形 ⿰扌由，3+5=8 笔与 hanzi-writer-data 笔顺一致). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 抽 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 抽?
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 抽?
Common ones are 抽烟. The reading of 抽 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.