搂 (lōu): to draw toward oneself; to gath…

Meanings

1 to draw toward oneself; to gather up; to rake in
2 to gather up (one's gown or sleeves)
3 to grab (money); to extort

Characters

搂

lōu

to draw toward oneself; to gather up; to rake in

Examples

HSK 7-9

他把落叶搂成一堆。

Tā bǎ luòyè lōu chéng yī duī.

He raked the fallen leaves into one pile.

HSK 7-9

他一心想着搂钱。

Tā yīxīn xiǎngzhe lōuqián.

All he thinks about is raking in money.

Tips

usage

The first-tone lōu is a sweeping pull toward yourself: raking leaves or hay, hitching up a gown, and the figurative 搂钱 (to rake in money, often shadily). For the affectionate 'hug' use the lǒu reading.

Components

radical

扌 shǒu

hand

扌 is the left-side form of 手 (hand). It marks 搂 as a hand-action verb and links it to a large family of grasping and holding chars like 抱, 拉, 抓.

phonetic

娄 lóu

drag; surname Lou

娄 supplies the sound, standalone lóu drifting to lǒu under the tone shift typical of derived verbs. The same phonetic appears in 楼 (building), 篓 (basket), 数, giving a useful sound family.