How to Write 触 (chù) — Meaning “to touch; to contact”

Imagine a bug (虫) with a horn (角) gently poking you. The horn represents the act of touching, and the bug makes the scene memorable, helping you recall that 触 means to touch or contact.

Pay attention to the left radical 角: its last stroke should be a vertical hook, not a straight line. The right side 虫 is smaller and sits lower, so keep the overall shape balanced. A common mistake is making the two halves too wide or uneven.

触 (chù) means "to touch," while 觖 (jué) is rare and relates to dissatisfaction or a broken horn. 觚 (gū) is an ancient wine vessel shaped like a horn. Visually, 触 has 虫 on the right, 觖 has 夬, and 觚 has 瓜, so focus on the different right-side components to distinguish them.

触 appears in common words like 接触 (to contact), 触碰 (to bump into), and 感触 (feelings or emotional stirrings). It is often used in formal or technical contexts, such as describing physical touch or metaphorical contact, like "感同身受" (to feel as if it happened to oneself).

Common words containing 触 include: 接触 (jiē chù) — to contact / to touch; 触碰 (chù pèng) — to touch; to bump into; 感触 (gǎn chù) — thoughts and feelings / emotional stirrings.