How to Write 攘 (rǎng) — Meaning “to push, seize, or clear away”

Imagine you need to push away a pile of clothes (like襄, which looks like stacked items) with your hand (扌). To do this, you roll up your sleeves (攘臂) so your hands are free to clear the mess. This connects to the common word 攘除 (clear away).

The right side 襄 has many parts: a top 口, then 衣 (clothes) with a middle section. Write the 扌 on the left first, then the right side from top to bottom — 口, then the horizontal 口-like part, then 衣. A common mistake is making the right side too wide or forgetting the small strokes inside 衣. Keep overall width balanced.

攘 means 'to push, seize, or clear away' as in 攘除 (eliminate), while 攉 (huō) means 'to shovel or turn over' like moving dirt. 攒 can mean 'to accumulate' (zǎn) or 'to gather together' (cuán), which is opposite to clearing away. Visually, 攉 has a right side 霍 (sudden), and 攒 has 赞 (praise), so they look quite different.

攘 appears in formal or literary expressions, especially in idioms like 攘外安内 (resist foreign aggression and stabilize the country). It is rarely used alone in daily speech but appears in compound words such as 攘除 (clear away obstacles) and 纷攘 (bustling chaos). Knowing it helps you understand classical Chinese and formal news writing.

Common words containing 攘 include: 攘除 (rǎng chú) — to clear away or eliminate; 攘臂 (rǎng bì) — to roll up one's sleeves; 纷攘 (fēn rǎng) — tumultuous; bustling and chaotic.