措 (cuò) is a Chinese character meaning “to arrange”. It is written from 扌 (hand (radical form)) and 昔 (former times; the past (in 借 it is the sound part)), side by side, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “to arrange; to handle”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
扌 + 昔
Left–right structure
- 扌 hand (radical form) · shǒu meaning
- 昔 former times; the past (in 借 it is the sound part) · xī sound
Structure from: 说文解字：措，置也。从手，昔声。现代字形核验：⿰扌昔，3+8=11 画（hanzi-writer-data）
Memory aid
A hand 扌 sorting through things from the past 昔 ("former times") — putting old matters in order is how you arrange and handle them. 昔 is xī and 措 is cuò: the sound has drifted a long way, so treat 昔 as a shape to remember here, not a pronunciation hint.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 措施cuò shīmeasure; step taken to deal with a situation措 = cuò
- 举措jǔ cuòmove; measure; step taken措 = cuò
Go deeper
All readings
to arrange; to handle
to arrange; to handle; to manage; to make plans for
安排；处置；筹划。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 措施cuò shīmeasure; step taken to deal with a situation措 = cuò
- 举措jǔ cuòmove; measure; step taken措 = cuò
Sound component
昔 family diverged
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 措 mean?
措 (cuò) means to arrange; to handle; to manage; to make plans for.
How do you pronounce 措?
It is pronounced cuò.
What parts is 措 made of?
扌 (hand (radical form)) and 昔 (former times; the past (in 借 it is the sound part)), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字：措，置也。从手，昔声。现代字形核验：⿰扌昔，3+8=11 画（hanzi-writer-data）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 措 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 措?
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 措?
Common ones are 措施 and 举措. The reading of 措 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.