抽
chōu · HSK 4
to draw out
🪒 抽 = hand 扌 + 由 (cause); the hand draws/pulls out — extended to whip
扌 is the hand radical; 由 gives the phonetic. Core sense is to draw out or pull (抽出 chōuchū = extract). The lash/whip meaning extends from the sharp pulling motion of a whip stroke.
抽 — hand radical 扌 + 由 yóu (phonetic)
抽 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The hand radical 扌 gives the meaning—an action done with the hand—while 由 supplies the sound (yóu → chōu). The original sense was to pull or draw out by hand, which extends to modern meanings like 'extract', 'draw (a lot)', or 'take time out'.