拽 (zhuài) is a Chinese character meaning “to pull or tug something hard with the hand”. It is written from 扌 (hand (radical form)) and 曳 (to drag; to trail behind), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “to pull hard; to drag”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
扌 + 曳
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「扌」3 画，笔画 3–8 为「曳」6 画，合计 9 画）
Memory aid
A hand (扌) grabs something that trails along the ground (曳) — and hauls it. That is 拽: pull hard.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 拖拽tuō zhuàito drag; to drag and drop拽 = zhuài
- 拉拽lā zhuàito pull; to tug at拽 = zhuài
Go deeper
All readings
to pull hard; to drag
to pull or tug something hard with the hand; to drag
用手使劲拉；拖着移动。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 拖拽tuō zhuàito drag; to drag and drop拽 = zhuài
- 拉拽lā zhuàito pull; to tug at拽 = zhuài
Rare readings, not taught: zhuāi, yè
Sound component
曳 family diverged
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 拽 mean?
拽 (zhuài) means to pull or tug something hard with the hand; to drag.
How do you pronounce 拽?
It is pronounced zhuài.
What parts is 拽 made of?
扌 (hand (radical form)) and 曳 (to drag; to trail behind), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「扌」3 画，笔画 3–8 为「曳」6 画，合计 9 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 拽 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 拽?
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 拽?
Common ones are 拖拽 and 拉拽. The reading of 拽 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.