How to Write 扪 (mén) — Meaning “to touch; to stroke; to feel with the hand”

Imagine you are standing at a door (门) and reaching out your hand (扌) to touch or feel its surface — that action is 扪. The visual of your hand on the door directly links the components to the meaning of 'to touch.' This simple picture helps you recall both the shape and the sense of the character.

Write the left radical 扌 first: horizontal stroke, then vertical hook, then lift (the final stroke angles upward). Then write 门: dot, vertical, horizontal fold hook, and final vertical — make sure the door part is not too wide and its vertical strokes are straight. A common mistake is making the 门 part too tall or placing the dot too far left; keep the whole character balanced.

㧜 is an extremely rare character not used in modern Chinese, while 扎 (zhā/zā) means 'to pierce' or 'to tie' and has a different right component (乚, a hook shape). Visually, 扪 contains a door-like 门, but 扎 has a curved hook on the right. In usage, 扪 appears in formal expressions like 扪心自问 (to examine one's conscience), while 扎 is common in words like 扎针 (to give an injection).

Common words containing 扪 include: 扪心 (mén xīn) — to examine one's conscience; to lay a hand on one's heart; 扪诊 (mén zhěn) — palpation (medical examination by touch); 扪摸 (mén mō) — to feel; to stroke; to grope.