Chinese symbol for “scratch”
挠
náo
Traditional: 撓
to scratch; to thwart; to yield
The closest CC-CEDICT match for scratch is 挠 (náo), defined as: to scratch; to thwart; to yield.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Traditional forms
Other Chinese words for “scratch”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 搔 | sāo | to scratch; old variant of 骚 (sāo) |
| 划痕 (劃痕) | huá hén | a scratch |
| 擦 | cā | to rub; to scratch; to wipe; to polish |
| 刮伤 (刮傷) | guā shāng | scratch (wound); scratch (damage to an object) |
| 搔痒 (搔癢) | sāo yǎng | to scratch (an itch); to tickle |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 挠.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 阻挠 (阻撓) | zǔ náo | to thwart; to obstruct (sth) |
| 不屈不挠 (不屈不撓) | bù qū bù náo | unyielding; indomitable |
| 百折不挠 (百折不撓) | bǎi zhé bù náo | to keep on fighting in spite of all setbacks (idiom); to be undaunted by repeated setbacks |
| 挠头 (撓頭) | náo tóu | tricky; problematic |
| 挠痒痒 (撓癢癢) | náo yǎng yang | to tickle |
| 抓挠 (抓撓) | zhuā nao | to scratch; to mess about with |
See also: Japanese symbol for “scratch”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.