摸 (mō): to feel with the hand, to touch, to stroke
摸 (mō) is a Chinese character meaning “to feel with the hand.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 扌 (semantic) and 莫 (phonetic). It ranks #1359 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 摸 hand. Its radical form 扌 (hand) appears in many related characters such as 手 (shǒu, hand), 打 (dǎ, hit, make), 找 (zhǎo, to look for).
Definitions
- to feel with the hand
- to touch
- to stroke
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 摸 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 触摸verb | chù mō | to touch |
| 抚摸verb | fǔ mō | to gently caress and stroke |
| 偷偷摸摸phrase | tōu tōu mō mō | (idiom) surreptitious |
| 捉摸verb | zhuō mō | to fathom |
| 摸索verb | mō suo | to feel about |
| 小偷小摸noun | xiǎo tōu xiǎo mō | to engage in petty theft |
| 顺藤摸瓜phrase | shùn téng mō guā | lit. to follow the vine to get to the melon |
| 摸清 | mō qīng | to suss out |
| 摸黑verb | mō hēi | to grope about in the dark |
| 捉摸不定 | zhuō mō bù dìng | (idiom) unpredictable |
| 估摸verb | gū mo | to reckon |
| 浑水摸鱼phrase | hún shuǐ mō yú | to fish in troubled water (idiom) |
| 触摸屏noun | chù mō píng | touchscreen |
| 摸爬滚打phrase | mō pá gǔn dǎ | to go through challenging experiences |
| 混水摸鱼phrase | hún shuǐ mō yú | variant of 渾水摸魚|浑水摸鱼 |
摸 appears in 52 compound words: 37 as the first character, 27 as the last, and 37 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 摸 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (15)
to take advantage of a crisis for personal gain; to fish in troubled waters
to follow the clues to get to the bottom of a matter or to thoroughly inquire into a matter
to engage in petty thievery; to not do things in an open and above board manner
to engage in petty thievery; to not do things in an open and above board manner
to take advantage of a crisis for personal gain; to fish in troubled waters
to follow the clues to get to the bottom of a matter or to thoroughly inquire into a matter
Showing 12 of 15 idioms containing 摸.
Example Sentences
他摸了摸口袋，发现钱包不见了。
Tā mō le mō kǒudài, fāxiàn qiánbāo bù jiàn le.
He touched his pocket and found his wallet was gone.
...龙内地宣传新戏 热情锡爆细路女面珠墩双手摸脸:龙之吻
. . . lóng nèi dì xuān chuán xīn xì rè qíng xī bào xì lù nǚ miàn zhū 墩 shuāng shǒu mō liǎn : lóng zhī wěn
... Dragon mainland promotes the new drama and enthusiastically tins the children's face
好难捉摸!今晚谷草投注额跌!
hǎo nán zhuō mō ! jīn wǎn gǔ cǎo tóu zhù é diē !
It's so elusive! Grass bets fell tonight!
密宗灌頂變性騷! 佛大碩生被仁波切狂摸下體:在吸收穢氣
mì zōng guàn 頂 變 xìng 騷 ! fó dà 碩 shēng bèi rén bō qiē kuáng mō xià 體 zài xī shōu 穢 氣
Tantric Initiation Turns Sexual Harassment! Buddhist University Graduate Groped by Rinpoche: "Absorbing Impure Energy"
警察變毒販 歐塞奎拉凶殘難捉摸
jǐng chá 變 dú 販 歐 sāi 奎 lā xiōng 殘 難 zhuō mō
Cop Turned Drug Dealer: Osequilla's Brutality and Elusiveness
連槓龜都有玄機?她買刮刮樂摸透「1規律」 秒中萬元大獎
連 槓 龜 dōu yǒu xuán 機 ? tā 買 guā guā 樂 mō tòu 規 lǜ miǎo zhōng 萬 yuán dà 獎
Even losing streaks hold secrets? She cracked the "one pattern" of scratch-off tickets and instantly won a ten-thousand-dollar jackpot.
我可以触摸这个吗？
Wǒ kěyǐ chùmō zhège ma?
Can I touch this one too?
这条围巾摸起来又软又滑。
Zhè tiáo wéijīn mō qǐlai yòu ruǎn yòu huá.
This scarf feels soft and smooth.
站在这个凳子上的话，你可以摸到衣柜顶。
Zhàn zài zhège dèngzi shàng dehuà, nǐ kěyǐ mō dào yīguì dǐng.
If you stand on this stool, you can reach the top of the closet.
汤姆不让别人摸他的狗。
Tāngmǔ bù ràng biéren mō tā de gǒu.
Tom doesn't let people pet his dog.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 摸 (mō) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 摸 and 幕?
How many strokes does 摸 have?
What is the radical of 摸?
What are the components of 摸?
What are common words containing 摸?
What characters sound the same as 摸 (mō)?
Is 摸 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 摸 with real-time feedback
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