How to Write 摇 (yáo) — Meaning “to shake; to rock; to wave”

Imagine your hand (扌) holding a tambourine and shaking it. The right side 䍃 looks like a round frame with jingles, so you can picture the whole character as a hand shaking a tambourine to make a 'yáo' sound.

Write the left radical 扌 tall and narrow, with the first stroke being a short horizontal. The right side 䍃 has a small claw-like top, a long vertical stroke, and a balanced bottom shape; a common mistake is to make the bottom too wide like a square.

摇 means 'to shake' and uses the hand on the side, while 挲 means 'to rub or stroke' and has the hand component on top. 捧 means 'to hold with both hands' and uses the right part 奉, showing a different action of cupping rather than moving.

摇 appears in common words like 摇头 (to shake one's head) and 摇晃 (to wobble). In Chinese culture, shaking the head usually means 'no' or disagreement, which is the opposite of nodding meaning 'yes'.

Common words containing 摇 include: 摇头 (yáo tóu) — to shake one's head; 摇晃 (yáo huàng) — to wobble; to shake; to be unsteady; 摇动 (yáo dòng) — to shake; to sway.