Dictionary › 拉

拉

lā

HSK 4 Character

What 拉 means

1. to pull
2. to play (a bowed instrument)
3. to drag
4. to draw
5. to chat
6. colloquialto empty one's bowels

Other readings

拉 is 多音字 — it is read more than one way, and the reading changes the meaning.

• láto make a cut in (sth); to slit; to gash; to slash
• làused in {拉拉蛄|là là gǔ}; variant of {落|là}

Example sentences

• 玛撒拉！
  Mashallah!
• 我拉肚子。
  Wǒ lādùzi.
  I have diarrhea.
• 我要拉屎。
  I have to take a dump.
• 我拉肚子了。
  Wǒ lādùzi le.
  I have diarrhea.
• 我拉小提琴。
  I play the violin.
• 拉塔来了吗？
  Has Lata come?

Words starting with 拉

• 拉开lā kāito pull open; to pull apart; to space out
• 拉拉lā lā(slang) lesbian; (colloquial) Labrador retriever
• 拉丁lā dīngLatin; (in former times) to press-gang; to kidnap and force people into service
• 拉面lā miànpulled noodles; ramen
• 拉动lā dòngto pull; (fig.) to stimulate (economic activity); to motivate (people to do sth)
• 拉德lā dérad (unit of absorbed dose of ionizing radiation) (loanword)
• 拉扯lā cheto drag; to pull; to raise a child (through difficulties)
• 拉长lā chángto lengthen; to pull sth out longer
• 拉客lā kèto solicit (guests, clients, passengers etc); to importune
• 拉美Lā MěiLatin America; abbr. for 拉丁美洲
• 拉链lā liànzipper
• 拉夫lā fūto force into service; press-gang
• 拉屎lā shǐto defecate; to shit; to crap
• 拉丁文Lā dīng wénLatin (language)
• 拉拢lā lǒngto rope in; fig. to involve sb; to entice
• 拉倒lā dǎo(colloquial) forget it; drop it; let it go; to pull down
• 拉肚子lā dù zi(colloquial) to have diarrhea
• 拉斯维加斯Lā sī Wéi jiā sīLas Vegas, Nevada
• 拉丁语Lā dīng yǔLatin (language)
• 拉手lā shǒuto hold hands; to shake hands
• 拉丁美洲Lā dīng Měi zhōuLatin America
• 拉脱维亚Lā tuō wéi yàLatvia
• 拉练lā liàn(military) to undergo field training…
• 拉紧lā jǐnto pull tight; tensioning

Words containing 拉

• 伊拉克Yī lā kèIraq
• 阿拉伯Ā lā bóArabian; Arabic; Arab
• 阿拉ā lā(Wu dialect) I; me; my; we; us; our
• 阿拉伯人Ā lā bó rénArab; Arabian; Arabian people
• 拖拉机tuō lā jītractor
• 阿拉伯语Ā lā bó yǔArabic (language)
• 摩托罗拉Mó tuō luó lāMotorola
• 香格里拉Xiāng gé lǐ lāShangri-la, the beautiful, idyllic land of James Hilton's 1933 novel "Lost Horizon"…
• 南斯拉夫Nán sī lā fūYugoslavia (former country that existed in various forms from 1918 to 2003)
• 阿拉法特Ā lā fǎ tèMohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini (1929-2004), Palestinian…
• 柏拉图Bó lā túPlato (c. 427 – c. 347 BC), Greek philosopher
• 阿拉伯文Ā lā bó wénArabic (language & writing)
• 里拉lǐ lā(loanword) lira (currency of Turkey)
• 安拉Ān lāAllah (Arabic name of God)
• 布拉格Bù lā géPrague, capital of Czech Republic
• 普拉Pǔ lāPula (city in Croatia)
• 耷拉dā lato droop; to hang down; to dangle
• 苏格拉底Sū gé lā dǐSocrates (469-399 BC), Greek philosopher; José Sócrates (1957-), prime minister of…
• 哈拉hā lāto chat idly (Tw)
• 手拉手shǒu lā shǒuto join hands; hand in hand
• 马拉松mǎ lā sōng(loanword) marathon
• 布达拉宫Bù dá lā gōngPotala, winter palace of Dalai Lamas in Lhasa, Tibet
• 法拉利Fǎ lā lìFerrari, Italian luxury sports car manufacturer
• 希拉克Xī lā kèJacques Chirac (1932-2019), president of France 1995-2007

Characters built on 立

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

• 垃lāused in 垃圾; Taiwan pr. lè
• 飒sàsound of wind; valiant; melancholy
• 砬láa huge boulder; a towering rock

Characters that look like 拉

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

• 杜dùbirchleaf pear (tree); to stop; to prevent
• 柱zhùpillar
• 扭niǔto turn; to twist; to wring
• 拦lánto block sb's path; to obstruct; to flag down (a taxi)
• 枯kū(of plants) withered; (of wells, rivers etc) dried up; (bound form) dull; boring
• 拄zhǔto lean on; to prop on

Sounds the same

Read lā, tone for tone, but written differently.

• 啦(onomatopoeia) sound of singing, cheering etc; (phonetic); (dialect) to chat
• 垃used in 垃圾; Taiwan pr. lè
• 喇(onomatopoeia) sound of wind, rain etc
• 邋used in 邋遢