How to Write 摔 (shuāi) — Meaning “to fall; to throw down; to break”

Imagine a hand (扌) throwing a baseball (rate/率) and the baseball falls to the ground—that falling action is 摔. The right part 率 can be thought of as a falling motion with its strokes, like a person tripping.

Write the left radical 扌 narrow and with three strokes (horizontal, vertical, and a short diagonal upward). Then the right side 率 has 12 strokes: start with the dot on top, then a horizontal, and then two vertical strokes with crosses; make sure the whole character is balanced left to right.

Although all three share the hand radical 扌, 摔 means "to fall" or "to throw down", while 掾 (yuàn) is an ancient term for an official, and 揄 (yú) means "to pull out" or "to wave". Visually, 摔 has the complex right side 率, 掾 has 彖, and 揄 has 俞.

摔 is used for falling or dropping things, such as in 摔倒 (to fall down) and 摔坏 (to break by dropping). It also appears in 摔跤, which can mean "to trip and fall" or "wrestling"—a traditional Chinese sport that is still practiced today.

Common words containing 摔 include: 摔倒 (shuāi dǎo) — to fall down; to trip and fall; 摔坏 (shuāi huài) — to break by dropping or falling; 摔跤 (shuāi jiāo) — to wrestle; to trip and fall.