How to Write 撸 (lū) — Meaning “to roll up (sleeves); to stroke (a pet)”

Imagine your hand (扌) is stroking a cat that has a fish (鱼) on its head and is sitting in the sun (日) — that image combines into 鲁 on the right side. So 撸 is your hand doing a gentle action with a cat that loves fish and sun. This can help you recall both the shape and the meaning 'to pet a cat'.

The left side 扌 is written in three strokes: horizontal, then vertical hook, then a diagonal upward stroke. The right side 鲁 starts with a dot (not a horizontal line), followed by the fish component (鱼) and finally the sun (日); a common mistake is writing the fish part without the correct upper hook or making the 日 too wide. Remember that the entire character is balanced with the left side narrower and the right side wider.

撸 (lū) means to roll up or to stroke, using the hand, while 搋 (chuāi) means to knead dough or stuff, and 搌 (zhǎn) means to wipe or dust. Visually, 撸 has 鲁 (fish + sun) on the right, 搋 has 惴 (heart + mountain + and), and 搌 has 展 (exhibit). Their meanings are distinct, so pay attention to the right-side component.

撸 appears in casual phrases like 撸起袖子 (roll up sleeves) and 撸串 (eat BBQ skewers), which is very common at night markets. The phrase 撸猫 (pet a cat) has become popular with the rise of cat cafes in China, where people go to stroke cats. This character reflects a very informal, everyday tone — you would not use it in formal writing.

Common words containing 撸 include: 撸起 (lū qǐ) — to roll up; 撸串 (lū chuàn) — to eat skewers; to have BBQ; 撸猫 (lū māo) — to pet a cat.