How to Write 攮 (nǎng) — Meaning “to stab; to poke”

Imagine a hand (扌) holding a long knife and thrusting it into a bag (囊, which means bag). The bag has many folds and stuff inside, so you have to stab and poke to get something out — that's the action of 攮 nǎng.

With 25 strokes, 攮 is very dense. Pay special attention to the right part 囊: it has three sections (一, 口, 衣) stacked, and the middle 口 must not be too wide. A common mistake is making the 衣 at the bottom too large or misplacing the diagonal strokes inside it.

攮 (nǎng) means to stab or poke, often with a sharp object. 攥 (zuàn) means to grip or hold tightly in the hand, and 攫 (jué) means to seize or grab suddenly. Visually, 攥 has 24 strokes with a simpler right side (算), while 攫 has 23 strokes with 瞿 on the right — 攮 uses 囊 which is unique.

攮 is an informal, somewhat violent verb meaning to stab or thrust, seen in phrases like 攮子 (dagger) or 捅攮 (to stab repeatedly). It's rarely used in polite conversation but appears in martial arts stories or descriptions of physical conflict. It is not part of standard HSK vocabulary.

Common words containing 攮 include: 攮子 (nǎng zi) — dagger; short sword; 捅攮 (tǒng nǎng) — to stab (repeatedly); 攮进去 (nǎng jìn qù) — to stab into; to thrust in.