How to Write 戳 (chuō) — Meaning “to poke; to pierce; to stamp”

Imagine a bird (隹) with feathers (羽) being poked by a spear (戈) — that visual of a spear hitting a bird helps recall the meaning of 'to poke'. The left side 翟 even looks like a bird with two wings, making the image easy to remember.

Write the left side 翟 first (13 strokes: start with two 习-like parts, then the bird radical 隹), then the right side 戈 (5 strokes: horizontal, slanted hook, left-falling, dot). A common mistake is making the left side too narrow or forgetting the dot in 戈, which changes the character entirely.

While both characters contain 戈 on the right, 戳 has the left part 翟 (feathers + bird) and means to poke or stamp, whereas 戴 has a different left part (異) and means to wear or put on something. Visually, 戳 is more straightforward, and their uses never overlap — you use 戴 for wearing a hat and 戳 for stamping a document.

戳 is common in daily life for physical poking (e.g., 戳破 a balloon) and for exposing lies (戳穿 a fraud). The word 戳子 means a stamp or seal, which is still important in Chinese offices for official documents, showing that 戳 combines the ideas of physical action and official authority.

Common words containing 戳 include: 戳穿 (chuō chuān) — to pierce through; to lay bare; to expose; 戳破 (chuō pò) — to puncture; to expose (a lie); 戳子 (chuō zi) — stamp; seal.