How to Write 拟 (nǐ) — Meaning “to plan; to draft”

Imagine your hand (扌) is holding a pen, and you are drawing a draft of a rectangle with a small line inside—that shape looks like the right side 以. So you are planning with your hand on paper.

The right part 以 has a unique stroke order: first write a small dot on the left, then a horizontal stroke, then a shorter horizontal, then a large diagonal stroke ending in a hook, and finally a dot. Make sure the left-hand radical 扌 is narrow so the right side has enough space.

拟 (nǐ) means 'to plan/draft', while 扑 (pū) means 'to pounce' and has a simpler right side: 卜 (divination). 㧜 is a rare character meaning 'to seize', with a right side that looks like a combination of 㕚, but it is almost never used in daily Chinese; 拟 is the common one for planning.

You will see 拟 in formal writing like 拟定 (to formulate a plan) for documents or policies, and 模拟 (simulation) for exams or experiments. It is not in HSK but appears in business and academic contexts where drafting or modeling is discussed.

Common words containing 拟 include: 拟定 (nǐ dìng) — to draw up; to formulate; 模拟 (mó nǐ) — to simulate; simulation; 拟稿 (nǐ gǎo) — to prepare a draft.