扒
scratch, dig up, crawl, crouch
Strokes5
Readings
On'yomi
- ハイ
- ハツ
- ハチ
Kun'yomi
- ぬ.く
- さば.く
Meaning
扒 centers on using the hands to scrape or pull at something: scratching, digging up, or moving in a low, scrabbling way like crawling or crouching.
Study
Etymology
扒 combines the hand radical 扌 with 八, which may have contributed a sound element. The exact historical development is uncertain, but the hand component fits the scratching and digging meanings.
Meaning mnemonic
A hand 扌 beside the shape 八, which looks like two claw marks. Picture a hand scratching or digging into the ground, leaving two parallel grooves.
Reading mnemonic
For ハイ, imagine a hand scratching a high wall: high -> ハイ, and the scratching sound echoes as you dig upward.