How to Write 罗 (luó) — Meaning “Net / To collect / Luo (surname)”

Imagine a net (罒) thrown over the evening sky (夕) to catch falling stars. You can also think of the surname Luo as a family that uses nets to collect treasures at dusk.

The top radical 罒 should be wide and flat, covering the bottom part 夕. The bottom 夕 has three strokes: left-falling, horizontal, and a dot — do not write it as two strokes. A common mistake is making the top net too narrow or the bottom part too large.

罗 has 夕 below, meaning 'net' or 'surname Luo'; it is very common. 罔 (wǎng) contains 亡 (death) and means 'deceive' or 'net' in old texts, but is rarely used. 罕 (hǎn) has 干 below and means 'rare' or 'seldom'. The visual difference is the bottom component: 夕 vs. 亡 vs. 干.

罗 is a very common surname in China, such as the writer Luo Guanzhong. It also appears in words like 罗马 (Rome), 罗盘 (compass), and 罗列 (to list). As a verb meaning 'to collect' it is less common now, but still used in some compound words.

Common words containing 罗 include: 罗马 (luó mǎ) — Rome; 罗盘 (luó pán) — Compass; 罗列 (luó liè) — To list / To display.