How to Write 撕 (sī) — Meaning “to tear; to rip”

Imagine your hand (扌) is gripping a piece of paper shaped like a square (the left side of 斯) and you tear it in half with a loud "sī" sound. The sound matches the pinyin, and the hand action reminds you of the meaning to tear.

Pay attention to the left side 扌: write the short horizontal stroke first, then the vertical hook, then the rising stroke. The right side 斯 is wider; write the 其 part with five horizontal strokes and the 斤 part below, keeping the whole character balanced. Common mistake is making the 其 too narrow or forgetting the left-falling stroke in 斤.

撕 means to tear or rip, while 搋 (chuāi) means to rub or knead, and 搌 (zhǎn) means to wipe or dust. Visually, 搋 has 揣 on the right (an entirely different component), and 搌 has 展 (meaning to spread) on the right. They share the hand radical but differ drastically in meaning and right-side components.

撕 is commonly used for physically tearing paper, cloth, or packaging, such as 撕开信封 (tear open an envelope) or 撕掉标签 (tear off a label). It can also appear in figurative phrases like 撕破脸 (to break off relations openly), where the idea of tearing represents a breakdown of harmony.

Common words containing 撕 include: 撕开 (sī kāi) — to tear open; 撕掉 (sī diào) — to tear off; to rip away; 撕破 (sī pò) — to tear; to rip apart.