How to Write 掴 (guāi) — Meaning “to slap”

Imagine your hand (扌) giving a huge, loud slap across the shape of a country (国) on a map – like a dramatic "guāi!" sound. This mental picture links the hand radical, the country component, and the slapping meaning together.

Write the hand radical 扌 first with a thin, narrow shape. Then add 国: start with the outer box (a vertical line, then a horizontal turn, then bottom horizontal), then write the inner 玉 (jade) – note that the final dot of 玉 should be placed inside. A common mistake is making the hand radical too wide, which makes the character unbalanced; keep 扌 slim and the right side 国 roughly equal in height.

掴 has the right side 国 (country) and means "to slap." 拜 has two hands (手) and means "to worship" or "to bow," and 括 has the right side 舌 (tongue) and means "to include" or "to enclose." Visually, the right components are completely different, so you can remember them by their distinct shapes and meanings.

掴 is used to describe slapping someone’s face, especially in phrases like 掴耳光 (give a face slap). It is a strong, aggressive word and is not commonly used in polite conversation, but appears in news reports, novels, or dramas about physical conflict. In Chinese culture, slapping someone’s face is a serious public insult, so using this character carries strong negative emotion.

Common words containing 掴 include: 掴脸 (guāi liǎn) — to slap the face; 掴耳光 (guāi ěr guāng) — to slap someone's face; 掴一巴掌 (guāi yī bā zhǎng) — to give a slap.