挠
náo · HSK 7
to scratch
🐱 sounds like NOW (náo) - scratch that itch NOW
挠 náo = to scratch; it also means to thwart or to yield. Hook on the sound: when an itch hits, you scratch it right NOW. The hand radical 扌 on the left marks it as a hand action like scratching.
挠 — hand radical 扌 + 尧 (yáo, phonetic)
挠 is a phono-semantic compound. The hand radical 扌 signals an action done with the hand, while 尧 (yáo) supplies the sound, shifted to náo. Originally meaning to disturb or bend, it now commonly means to scratch.