掏 (tāo) is a Chinese character meaning “to pull out”. It is written from 扌 (hand (radical form)) and 匋 (earthenware; pottery (a wrap 勹 around a vessel 缶)), side by side, and takes 11 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 + 匋
Left–right structure
- 扌 hand (radical form) · shǒu meaning
- 匋 earthenware; pottery (a wrap 勹 around a vessel 缶) · táo sound
Structure from: IDS (cjkvi-ids, build-time only): ⿰扌匋; checked against hanzi-writer-data stroke counts 扌3 + 匋8 = 11
Memory aid
A hand (扌) reaches into an earthenware jar (匋) to dig something out. 匋 also hints at the sound: táo → tāo.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 掏钱tāo qiánto pay (out of one’s own pocket)掏 = tāo
- 掏出tāo chūto pull out; to take out掏 = tāo
Go deeper
All readings
to pull out
to pull out; to take out (from a pocket, etc.); to dig; to scoop out
把手或工具伸进去往外拿；挖。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 掏钱tāo qiánto pay (out of one’s own pocket)掏 = tāo
- 掏出tāo chūto pull out; to take out掏 = tāo
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 掏 mean?
掏 (tāo) means to pull out; to take out (from a pocket, etc.); to dig; to scoop out.
How do you pronounce 掏?
It is pronounced tāo.
What parts is 掏 made of?
扌 (hand (radical form)) and 匋 (earthenware; pottery (a wrap 勹 around a vessel 缶)), side by side. The recorded source is: IDS (cjkvi-ids, build-time only): ⿰扌匋; checked against hanzi-writer-data stroke counts 扌3 + 匋8 = 11. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 掏 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 掏?
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 掏?
Common ones are 掏钱 and 掏出. The reading of 掏 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.