Meaning
撈 centers on the action of scooping or dragging to catch fish from water.
Most common words using 撈
win on the last discard of a round
totally useless (fruitless) effort; wasting time on an impossible task (like trying to scoop up a reflected moon from the bottom of the sea)
haitei winning hand; winning on the last tile drawn from the wall
Explore all words using 撈 →
Study
Etymology
撈 combines 扌 (hand) with 勞, which likely contributes the sound and the idea of labor or effort, suggesting the manual work of catching fish.
Meaning mnemonic
The hand radical 扌 beside 勞 (labor) shows the effort of using one's hands to scoop fish from the water.
Reading mnemonic
For ロウ, imagine a fisherman rowing a boat while scooping fish: row -> ロウ, and the hand 扌 does the labor 勞 of catching fish.
