How to Write 掇 (duō) — Meaning “to pick up; to collect”

Picture a hand (扌) picking up four small objects (each 又 in 叕) from the floor. The right side 叕 looks like four "又" (meaning "again") stacked, so you can think of picking up the same things again and again until they are all collected.

The left radical 扌 should be written slightly narrower, with the third stroke (a lifting hook) ending before crossing into the right half. On the right, the top part of 叕 has four 又 components; make sure each 又 is balanced and the bottom 又 is slightly wider to support the structure. A common mistake is making the right side too tall or uneven.

拜 (bài) means "to bow" or "to worship" and has two hands on the left and right, while 掇 only has one hand on the left and a complex right side. 括 (kuò) means "to include" or "to wrap" and uses the hand radical with 舌 (tongue) on the right, visually simpler than 掇's four-又 stack. In usage, 掇 focuses on picking up or tidying, unlike 拜's ritual action or 括's enclosing sense.

掇 appears most often in the common word 拾掇 (shí duō), meaning "to tidy up" or "to repair" a room or object. It is also used in 掇弄 (duō nòng), which can mean "to arrange" or "to fiddle with something." This character is not in the HSK list and is more frequent in spoken or informal written Chinese, especially in northern dialects.

Common words containing 掇 include: 拾掇 (shí duō) — to tidy up; to repair; 掇弄 (duō nòng) — to arrange; to fiddle with; 掇拾 (duō shí) — to pick up; to tidy up.