How to Write 拉 (lā) — Meaning “to pull; to drag”

Imagine your hand (扌) pulling a person (立) who is standing still — you are dragging them away. This picture links the hand radical and the "stand" component to the idea of pulling.

Write the left part 扌 first: horizontal, vertical hook, then lift. Then write the right part 立: dot, horizontal, dot, downward stroke, horizontal. A common mistake is making the right side too wide; keep 立 narrow and centered so the character stays balanced.

拉 (pull) uses the hand radical with 立, while 托 (tuō) uses the hand radical with 乇 and means "to hold in the palm" or "to support." 㧜 (luò) is a rare character meaning "to bind" and is not commonly used, whereas 拉 is a basic HSK 2 word for pulling actions.

拉 is very common for physical pulling actions like 拉门 (pull a door) or 拉手 (hold hands). In China, sliding doors are often called 拉门 because you pull them sideways, and 拉车 refers to pulling a cart, which was a traditional job in the past.

Common words containing 拉 include: 拉门 (lā mén) — To pull a door / Sliding door; 拉手 (lā shǒu) — To hold hands; 拉车 (lā chē) — To pull a cart or rickshaw.