爫

zhuǎ

radical_variant

Meanings

1 claw on top radical (variant of 爪)
2 top form of the claw radical, Kangxi #87

Tips

usage

爫 is the downward-reaching hand seen at the top of characters like 爱 (love) and 采 (pick). Read it as 爪 (claw/hand) flattened for top position — the four short strokes are the splayed fingers reaching toward whatever sits below. Never written alone.

history

爫 is the calligraphic flattening of 爪, originally a pictograph of a hand reaching down with fingers extended. When stacked above another component, the central spine drops and only the four downward-pointing digits survive, forming a small canopy of strokes.

usage

Reach-down cue: 爱 (love — hand offering the heart 心), 受 (receive — two hands passing something), 采 (pick — hand picking from a tree 木), 爬 (crawl/climb), 觅 (seek).

Radical

Claw Kangxi #87

Indexing radical for grasping, scratching, and bird-of-prey actions. Marks characters involving talons, snatching, or downward-reaching hands. As the top-position variant 爫 it sits above many compounds (爱, 受, 采), where it depicts a hand reaching down.

Forms

爪 zhǎo

Default 2 characters

爫 zhuǎ

Top 5 characters

Used in

Showing 5 of 5 · top form 爫 of 爪

爱 ài

to love; to like

爵 jué

ancient bronze wine vessel (with 3 legs and a loop handle) · nobility

觅 mì

(literary) to seek; to look for

爰 yuán

to pull; to draw to oneself; thereupon (classical connective)

爯 chēng

(archaic) to lift and weigh; to raise (old form of 稱 / 称)

Stroke Order