Hanzi Now
挖 Chinese character image - Hanzi Now
挖 Chinese character image - Hanzi Now
挖 Chinese character image - Hanzi Now
挖 Chinese character image - Hanzi Now
挖 Chinese character image - Hanzi Now
挖 Chinese character image - Hanzi Now
挖 Chinese character image - Hanzi Now
挖 Chinese character image - Hanzi Now

挖 Stroke Order — How to Write 挖

Stroke Order

挖 is written in 9 strokes, following the standard Chinese stroke order. Start from the radical 扌, then complete the remaining strokes.

Stroke order matters in Chinese: it keeps the character balanced, and it is how dictionaries and handwriting input methods expect a character to be written.

挖 Radical and Character Components

Components:扌穵

挖 is an ideographic compound. To dig out 扌 a hollow 穵; 穵 also provides the pronunciation.

Radical: 扌 + 6 more strokes

挖 Pronunciation and Pinyin

  • wā

Meanings of 挖 in Chinese

1

wā挖

To dig, excavate, or scoop out; metaphorically, to rack one's brains or undermine.
为了解决这个难题，他挖空心思，终于找到了一个巧妙的办法。
To solve this difficult problem, he racked his brains and finally found a clever method.
To scratch or dig at something, often resulting in damage or a broken state.
小猫淘气，把沙发挖破了
The naughty kitten scratched the sofa open.

Common Words and Phrases with 挖

1
wā挖bǔ补
To mend by replacing a damaged part.
工人师傅们正在对路面进行挖补作业，以修复坑洼
The workers are carrying out patch-and-repair work on the road surface to fix the potholes.
2
wā挖dòng洞
To dig a hole or burrow.
小兔子在草地上挖洞，准备建造它的新家。
The little rabbit is digging a hole on the grass, preparing to build its new home.
3
wā挖ěr耳dāng当zhāo招
To mistake a casual gesture for an invitation, often due to eager anticipation or wishful thinking.
小明太自作多情了，老是挖耳当招，觉得所有人都对他有意思。
Xiao Ming is so self-absorbed that he constantly "digs ears as a greeting," misinterpreting others' casual actions as signs of interest in him.
4
wā挖fāng方
Excavation (of earth or stone)
施工队正在计算这次工程的挖方总量。
The construction team is calculating the total volume of excavated material for this project.
5
wā挖jué掘
To dig or excavate something from the ground; to unearth.
考古学家们正在努力挖掘古代文物的遗迹。
Archaeologists are diligently digging up the remains of ancient artifacts.
6
wā挖kōng空xīn心sī思
to rack one's brains; to cudgel one's brains; to think hard and exhaust all possibilities
设计师挖空心思，终于设计出了一款既美观又实用的新产品。
The designer racked their brains, finally creating a new product that is both aesthetically pleasing and practical.
7
wā挖kǔ苦
To speak sarcastically or make cutting remarks to mock or disparage someone.
他总是喜欢挖苦别人，但没人真正在意他的话。
He always likes to mock others, but no one really cares about what he says.
8
wā挖qián潜
to tap the latent potential or power
为了提高生产效率，公司决定从内部挖潜，优化现有资源。
To improve production efficiency, the company decided to tap into its internal potential and optimize existing resources.
9
wā挖qiáng墙jiǎo脚
To undermine someone, often by taking away their employees, customers, or support.
小王最近感觉有人在公司里挖他墙脚，所以工作起来总是提心吊胆的。
Xiao Wang recently felt that someone in the company was trying to undermine his position, so he's always anxious at work.
10
wā挖ròu肉bǔ补chuāng疮
To remedy one problem by creating another, often worse, one; a short-sighted approach that causes more harm than good in the long run.
为了弥补暂时的资金缺口，公司竟然决定出售盈利的子公司，这简直是挖肉补疮的行为。
To cover the temporary capital deficit, the company surprisingly decided to sell its profitable subsidiary, which is clearly an act of "cutting a piece of flesh to patch up a sore," solving an immediate problem by creating a bigger one for the future.
11
wā挖yāo腰bāo包
To pay out of one's own pocket or purse; to foot a bill personally.
这次聚餐，大家都要挖腰包AA制。
For this dinner, everyone will have to dip into their pockets and go Dutch.

More words with 挖

Idioms with 挖

Recommended tools

Bingo Cards

Picture and word Bingo for your class

Open the tool →

Chinese Text Image Generator

Create PNGs with pinyin, highlight character parts or remove strokes

Open the tool →

Character Highlight Animator

Choose character parts and animate their colors, together or in stroke order

Open the tool →

Picture Worksheets

Chinese and English fill-in vocabulary worksheets

Open the tool →

Questions about 挖

What does 挖 mean in Chinese?

挖 (wā) means “To dig, excavate, or scoop out” in Chinese.

How do you pronounce 挖?

挖 is pronounced wā in Mandarin Chinese.

How many strokes does 挖 have?

挖 has 9 strokes.

How do you write 挖?

挖 is written in 9 strokes, starting from the radical 扌. See the animated stroke order on this page.

What is the radical of 挖?

The radical of 挖 is 扌, and 挖 is an ideographic compound.