摸
·
to feel with the hand; to touch; to stroke; to grope; to steal; to abstract
13 strokes
Dict coverage rank #1,402 U+6478
How 摸 is formed
Phono-semantic compound (形声字)
扌 (semantic, “hand”) + 莫 (phonetic, mò)
How to remember it
grope · Heisig RSH #1845
fingers + graveyard
Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.
Phonetic series: characters sharing the sound component 莫
Siblings built with the same phonetic component 莫 (mò) — compare how they read:
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 莫 sound component | mò | cannot; do not; is not; negative |
| 模 | mó | model, pattern, standard; to copy, to imitate |
| 幕 | mù | curtain, screen, tent; measure word for plays and shows |
| 膜 | mó | membrane, film; to kneel and worship |
| 墓 | mù | grave, tomb |
| 漠 | mò | desert; aloof, cool, indifferent |
| 慕 | mù | to admire, to desire, to long for |
| 暮 | mù | dusk, evening, sunset; ending |
| 募 | mù | to levy, to raise; to recruit; to summon |
| 蟆 | má | frog, toad |
| 摹 | mó | to trace; to imitate, to copy; pattern |
| 谟 | mó | to scheme, to plan; to practice |
| 馍 | mó | bread |
| 寞 | mò | silent, still; lonely, solitary |
| 蓦 | mò | suddenly, quickly, abruptly |
| 糢 | mó | rice snacks |
| 镆 | mò | sword |
| 嫫 | mó | Huangdi's ugly concubine; ugly woman, nurse |
| 瘼 | mò | sickness; distress |
Words containing 摸
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 摸着石头过河 | mō zhe shí tou guò hé | to wade across the river, feeling for footholds as one goes (idiom); to advance cautiously… |
| 两眼一摸黑 | liǎng yǎn yī mō hēi | (of sb in an unfamiliar situation) helpless and disoriented |
| 摸不着头脑 | mō bu zháo tóu nǎo | to be unable to make any sense of the matter; to be at a loss |
| 不摸头 | bù mō tóu | not acquainted with the situation; not up on things |
| 摸不着边 | mō bu zháo biān | can't make head or tail of |
| 合眼摸象 | hé yǎn mō xiàng | to touch an elephant with closed eyes (idiom); to proceed blindly |
| 丈二和尚，摸不着头脑 | zhàng èr hé shang , mō bu zháo tóu nǎo | lit. like a three-meter high monk, you can't rub his head (idiom); fig. at a total loss |
| 摸不着 | mō bu zháo | can't touch; can't reach; (fig.) unable to get a grasp of |
| 丈二金刚摸不着头脑 | zhàng èr Jīn gāng mō bu zháo tóu nǎo | see 丈二和尚，摸不著頭腦|丈二和尚，摸不着头脑[zhang4 er4 he2 shang5 , mo1 bu5 zhao2 tou2 nao3] |
| 混水摸鱼 | hún shuǐ mō yú | variant of 渾水摸魚|浑水摸鱼[hun2 shui3 mo1 yu2] |
| 起早摸黑 | qǐ zǎo mō hēi | see 起早貪黑|起早贪黑[qi3 zao3 tan1 hei1] |
| 摸得着 | mō de zháo | to be able to touch; tangible |
| 小偷小摸 | xiǎo tōu xiǎo mō | to engage in petty theft |
| 学摸 | xué mo | variant of 踅摸[xue2 mo5] |
| 自摸 | zì mō | (mahjong) to self-draw the winning tile; (slang) to play with oneself; to masturbate |
| 摸黑 | mō hēi | to grope about in the dark |
| 摸鱼 | mō yú | to catch fish; (fig.) to loaf on the job; to be slack; to take it easy |
| 摸清 | mō qīng | to suss out; to figure out; to ascertain |
| 摸八圈 | mō bā quān | to play mahjong |
| 浑水摸鱼 | hún shuǐ mō yú | to fish in troubled water (idiom); to take advantage of a crisis for personal gain |