How to Write 摀 (wǔ) — Meaning “cover (with hands)”

Imagine your hand (扌) covering a small house (屋) to keep it hidden. You can picture placing your palm over a tiny roof to block it from view. This visual of a hand over a house helps link the shape to the meaning "cover with hands."

The right side 屋 has a top part 尸 (corpse/flag) and bottom 至 (arrive), but be careful not to write the bottom as 土 or 王. Also ensure the hand radical 扌 has a clear upward hook at the end of the vertical stroke, and the whole character is balanced — the left side is narrower than the right. A common mistake is making the 扌 too wide or forgetting the dot inside 屋.

摀 (wǔ) specifically means to cover something with your hand, like covering your mouth or face. 挲 (suō) usually appears in the word 摩挲 (mó suō), meaning to stroke or rub gently with the hand. 捧 (pěng) means to hold or support something with both hands, often in a cupped manner, not to cover.

摀 is commonly used in everyday actions like 摀住嘴巴 (cover one's mouth) when coughing or sneezing, or 摀着脸 (cover one's face) out of shyness or surprise. It can also describe covering a wound or hiding an object quickly. Though not in HSK, it appears in informal speech and literature.

Common words containing 摀 include: 摀住 (wǔ zhù) — cover up; 摀脸 (wǔ liǎn) — cover one's face; 摀嘴 (wǔ zuǐ) — cover one's mouth.