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Kotomora

抽

pluck, pull, extract, excel

JLPTN1StatusJōyō · secondary schoolFrequencyTop 2,000Strokes8

Readings

On'yomi

  • チュウ

Kun'yomi

  • ひき-

Meaning

抽 centers on drawing something out from within: plucking, pulling, or extracting. The sense of excelling can be seen as pulling ahead of others.

Most common words using 抽

20 of 49

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Study

Etymology

抽 combines 扌 (hand) with 由, which likely contributes the sound and may suggest drawing out or extracting. The exact historical role of 由 is uncertain.

Meaning mnemonic

The hand radical 扌 beside 由 suggests a hand pulling something out from a container or source. Picture a hand plucking a thread from a spool.

Reading mnemonic

For チュウ, imagine pulling a chew toy from a dog's mouth: chew -> チュウ, and your hand extracts it.