挘
pluck, pick, tear, (kokuji)
Strokes9
Readings
On'yomi
—
Kun'yomi
- むし.る
- むしりと.る
Meaning
挘 centers on removing something by pulling with the hand: plucking, picking, or tearing away. It is a Japanese kokuji created for this specific manual action.
Study
Etymology
挘 is a Japanese kokuji, created by combining the hand radical 扌 with 劣 (inferior, weak) to express the action of plucking or tearing by hand. The exact historical reasoning behind the component choice is uncertain.
Meaning mnemonic
The hand radical 扌 beside 劣 suggests a hand doing something that makes something inferior or lessened: plucking feathers, picking leaves, or tearing paper reduces the whole.
Reading mnemonic
For むし, imagine a hand plucking a mushy (むし) overripe fruit from a branch: mushy -> むし, and the hand tears it away.