扔 (rēng): to throw; to toss

Meanings

1 to throw; to toss
2 to throw away; to discard

Characters

扔

rēng

to throw; to toss; to discard

Examples

HSK 3

别乱扔东西。

Bié luàn rēng dōngxi.

Don't throw things around.

HSK 3

他把球扔给了我。

Tā bǎ qiú rēng gěi le wǒ.

He threw the ball to me.

HSK 7-9

把垃圾扔到垃圾桶里。

Bǎ lājī rēng dào lājītǒng lǐ.

Throw the trash in the trash can.

Tips

usage

扔 is the everyday word for both "throw" and "throw away." 扔垃圾 = throw away trash. 扔球 = throw a ball. Very versatile.

culture

With China's garbage sorting policy (垃圾分类), you can't just 乱扔 (throw randomly) anymore - you need to sort into recyclable, kitchen waste, harmful waste, and other waste.

Components

radical

扌 shǒu

hand (left-side radical)

Left hand radical - three strokes, the compressed left-side form of 手. Anchors 扔 in the throwing-and-handling family alongside 拿 (take), 抛 (toss), 投 (cast), 摔 (hurl), 推 (push). Tells the reader: this character names something the hand does - here, an outward throwing motion.

phonetic

乃 nǎi

thus; namely (phonetic)

Right phonetic 乃 - supplies the sound (nǎi drifted to rēng, a heavy historical shift but recognisable in the related 仍). Originally a curved-breast pictograph repurposed for grammatical use. Two strokes, the simplest possible right-hand phonetic. Same phonetic in 仍 (still), 奶 (milk) - note 仍 is etymologically the closest relative to 扔.