How to Write 挹 (yì) — Meaning “to ladle out; to draw (water)”

Imagine a hand (扌) reaching into a town well (邑) to draw water. The right side 邑 looks like a small city with walls, and your hand is scooping out water from its center.

The right part 邑 has a box-like structure with a small circle (口) on top and a curved tail (巴) below; be careful not to make the top too wide. The hand radical on the left should be narrow, and the overall character should be balanced left to right.

㧜 is a rare character with no common meaning, while 抨 (pēng) means 'to attack' or 'to impeach' and uses the same hand radical but a different phonetic component (平). Unlike 挹's idea of drawing water, 抨 involves striking or criticizing, so the context is completely different.

挹 is quite formal and literary, appearing in fixed expressions like 挹取 (to draw water) and 谦挹 (modest and humble). It is not used in daily conversation but can be found in classical poetry, financial contexts (挹注 for funding), or descriptions of humble behavior.

Common words containing 挹 include: 挹取 (yì qǔ) — to draw; to ladle out; 挹注 (yì zhù) — to pour into; to provide financial support; 谦挹 (qiān yì) — modest and humble.