How to Write 捂 (wǔ) — Meaning “to cover (with one's hands)”

Imagine that you cover your mouth with your hand and say "wǔ" to shush someone. The left side 扌 looks like a hand, and the right side 吾 sounds like "woo," so you can think "hand goes 'woo' to cover."

Write the left radical 扌 first: the vertical stroke should be straight and slightly longer, and the two curved strokes stay compact. Then write 吾: start with the horizontal strokes from top to bottom, making the upper part narrow and the lower 口 square – keep the whole character balanced, not too wide.

㧜 (sometimes used for "to cover" or "to grasp") is extremely rare and not standard in modern Chinese, while 捂 is the common word for covering with hands. 抨 means "to attack" or "to criticize" (e.g., 抨击), and visually has 平 on the right instead of 吾, so their meanings and uses are completely different.

捂 is commonly used for actions like covering your face (捂脸), ears (捂耳朵), or mouth (捂嘴), often in embarrassment, shock, or to block sound. A popular internet culture example is 捂脸 (wǔ liǎn) meaning "facepalm" when reacting to something awkward or funny.

Common words containing 捂 include: 捂住 (wǔ zhù) — to cover up; to plug; 捂脸 (wǔ liǎn) — to cover one's face; facepalm; 捂耳朵 (wǔ ěr duǒ) — to cover one's ears.