In daily speech, 勺子 (sháozi) is more common than 勺 alone. In northern China, 勺 is the standard word for spoon. In southern China, 调羹 (tiáogēng) is often used instead.
memory
勺 looks like a ladle or spoon — the stroke inside the enclosure is the bowl of the spoon.
Wrap radical curving from upper-right down to lower-left — pictograph of a hand or arm bent around something, the indexing radical for enclosing actions (包 wrap, 匀 even, 匆 hurry). In 勺 it forms the bowl of the spoon, the curved cup that holds the contents.
Single dot inside the curve — abstract indicator of the spoon's contents, the bit of liquid or grain scooped up. The two strokes together depict a ladle with something in its hollow; the dot is what turns a 勹 'wrapping' into a 勺 'spoon-holding-something.' Same content-marker dot in 太 and 玉.
