搂
loū , loǔ · HSK 7
to draw towards oneself
🫂 loū sounds like LOOP your arms — to draw towards yourself and gather up
搂 (loū/loǔ) means to draw toward oneself, to gather, or to gather up a gown or sleeves. The sound-alike LOOP links to looping your arms inward to pull things close.
搂 — hand radical 扌 + 娄 (lóu, phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The hand radical 扌 signals a meaning related to actions of the hand, while 娄 supplies the sound (lóu/lǒu). The character means to gather up, hold in one's arms, or embrace, all natural extensions of hand-based actions.