抹
mǒ · HSK 7
brush/wipe off
🧽 mǒ sounds like mop, and you mop to wipe off; hand 扌 + end 末
The hand radical 扌 signals an action done by hand, paired with 末 (mò, tip/end) which also lends the sound. The mop sound-alike ties straight to the meaning: brush or wipe something off, or exclude it.
抹 — hand radical 扌 + 末 (mò, tip/end)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The hand radical 扌 gives the meaning, since 抹 describes hand actions like wiping, smearing, or applying. The component 末 supplies the sound, originally pronounced close to mò. Over time the verb extended to senses like erasing or plastering.