How to Write 勺 (sháo) — Meaning “spoon”

Picture a spoon (勹) scooping up a single small drop of food (the dot). The outer curve is the spoon's bowl and handle, and the dot is the bite-sized piece it carries.

Write the left-falling stroke first, then the horizontal hook (left to right), and finally the dot inside the hook's curve. A common mistake is placing the dot too far to the left or outside the hook, but it should sit inside the upper right area of the enclosure.

勺 has a dot inside the wrapping radical 勹, while 勹 is just the empty wrapping shape with no dot. 勾 (gōu) also has a dot but includes an extra downward hook stroke, and its meaning is "hook" or "cancel," not "spoon."

勺 is commonly used in words like 勺子 (spoon) and 汤勺 (soup ladle), and in measurements like 一勺 (a spoonful). It appears in cooking and dining contexts daily; no special cultural symbolism beyond its practical use.

Common words containing 勺 include: 勺子 (sháo zi) — spoon; 汤勺 (tāng sháo) — Soup ladle; 一勺 (yī sháo) — a spoonful.