How to Write 揠 (yà) — Meaning “to pull up”

Think of the sound "yà" which is like "yank" – to yank something up. Visualize a hand (扌) yanking a seedling (the right side looks like a plant with a sun and woman) out of the soil.

Write the left hand radical first: horizontal, vertical hook, lift. Then the right part 匽: start with the outer frame (horizontal, vertical), then the inner 日 and 女. A common mistake is to separate the top horizontal line – keep it connected to the left vertical stroke.

揠 means "to pull up" and is used almost only in the idiom 揠苗助长. 挨 (āi) means to lean on or to suffer, and 挫 (cuò) means to defeat or to twist. Visually, they all have 扌 but different right sides: 矣 for 挨, 坐 for 挫, and 匽 for 揠.

揠 is very rare outside the idiom 揠苗助长, which comes from an ancient story about a farmer who pulled up his seedlings to help them grow but killed them. Today, the idiom is used to criticize people who try to speed up progress in a way that ruins the result.

Common words containing 揠 include: 揠苗助长 (yà miáo zhù zhǎng) — to spoil things by excessive enthusiasm (idiom); 揠起 (yà qǐ) — to pull up; 揠苗 (yà miáo) — to pull up seedlings.