How to Write 抽 (chōu) — Meaning “to pull out or smoke”

Imagine you are pulling a long train of smoke out of your mouth with your hand — the left side 扌 is your hand grabbing smoke, and the right side 由 looks like a curly puff of smoke rising. Another way: think of pulling a ticket (由 shaped like a ticket) from a box with your hand.

Write the left radical 扌 first with the vertical hook (提) rising upward. Then write 由: start with the left vertical, then top horizontal, the middle horizontal, and finally the right vertical — make sure the middle horizontal touches both sides. A common mistake is making the right part 由 too tall or forgetting to connect the horizontal line inside.

Both use the hand radical 扌, but 抽 means to pull out or smoke, while 托 means to hold up with the palm or to entrust. Visually, 抽 has 由 on the right (like a box with a cross inside), and 托 has 乇 (a short bent shape). In usage, you cannot use 抽 for 'hold up' or 托 for 'pull out'.

You use 抽 for physical pulling, like 抽出 (chōu chū) means to pull something out from inside, and for smoking, like 抽烟 (chōu yān) meaning to smoke a cigarette. It is also used in games and activities, such as 抽奖 (chōu jiǎng) for a lucky draw or raffle. Note that smoking is less common in public places in China today due to health restrictions.

Common words containing 抽 include: 抽烟 (chōu yān) — to smoke; 抽出 (chōu chū) — to pull out; 抽奖 (chōu jiǎng) — lucky draw.