殴 (ōu): to beat up

Meanings

1 to beat up
2 to hit
3 to strike (a person)

Characters

殴

ōu

to beat up; to assault

Examples

HSK 6

双方发生口角后互殴，各有受伤。

Shuāngfāng fāshēng kǒujiǎo hòu hù'ōu, gè yǒu shòushāng.

After an argument, both sides came to blows and were injured.

HSK 7-9

他因殴打他人被警方逮捕。

Tā yīn ōudǎ tārén bèi jǐngfāng dàibǔ.

He was arrested by the police for assaulting someone.

Tips

usage

殴 is primarily used in legal/formal language: 殴打 (to assault), 互殴 (mutual fighting), 殴打罪 (assault and battery). Not used in casual speech.

Components

radical

殳 shū

halberd; bamboo staff

殳 is the indexing radical, an old graph showing a hand wielding a long pole - ceremonial staff, then any striking weapon. It carries the meaning of 殴: to beat, hit with violence (殴打). Sister chars 段 (originally hammered), 般 (kind), 投 (toss) all involve the striking hand.

phonetic

区 qū

area; district

区 (qū) on the left supplies the sound - initial drifted from q- to vowel-only ō, rime preserved. Originally pictured small things hidden inside a box (匚), hence sense of compartment. Same phonetic drives 欧 (Europe), 鸥 (gull), 呕 (vomit) - all ōu/qū family.