Dictionary › 抠

抠

kōu

HSK 3.0 character level 7-9 Character Traditional 摳

抠 (kōu) means "to dig out; to pick out (with one's fingers); to carve". It is an HSK 3.0 level 7-9 word, and was not on the old six-level HSK list.

What 抠 means

1. to dig; to pick; to scratch (with a finger or sth pointed)
2. to carve; to cut
3. to study meticulously
4. stingy; miserly
5. to lift up (esp. the hem of a robe)

Words starting with 抠

• 抠门kōu mén(colloquial) stingy
• 抠图kōu tú(image processing) to extract a foreground object from its background; image matting
• 抠搜kōu sou(colloquial) stingy; miserly
• 抠脚kōu jiǎoto scratch one's foot; (fig.) to be stingy; (slang) (of a celebrity) to twiddle one's…
• 抠字眼kōu zì yǎnto be fastidious about phrasing, diction, or choice of words
• 抠门儿kōu mén rerhua form of 抠门
• 抠字眼儿kōu zì yǎn rerhua variant of 抠字眼
• 抠抠搜搜kōu kou sōu sōusee 抠搜

Words containing 抠

• 老抠lǎo kōupenny-pincher; miser

Characters built on 区

These share the phonetic component 区 (qū), which is why their readings rhyme. Learning them as a family is far cheaper than learning them one at a time.

• 欧ōuohm (abbr. for 欧姆; euro (abbr. for 欧元; used in transliteration
• 殴ōuto beat up; to hit sb
• 呕ǒuvomit
• 鸥ōucommon gull
• 瓯ōu(pottery) bowl or drinking vessel
• 讴ōuto sing; ballad; folk song
• 怄òuto annoy; to irritate; to be annoyed
• 沤ōububble; froth

Characters that look like 抠

Easy to confuse on sight. Compare them side by side once and the pair stops costing you.

• 报bàoto report; to inform; to announce; to respond; to reply; to sign up for…
• 驱qūto expel; to urge on; to drive
• 拒jùto resist; to repel; to refuse
• 招zhāoto recruit; to provoke; to beckon
• 枢shū(bound form) hinge; pivot (usu. fig.)
• 轭èyoke

Sounds the same

Read kōu, tone for tone, but written differently.

• 眍to sink in (of eyes)
• 𫸩nock at end of bow; stretch
• 芤hollow; scallion stalk

Go deeper

• How characters are built from components.
• How to learn Chinese characters.
• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read kōu correctly.
• Look up another word in the free dictionary.