Chinese word

捞

Pronunciation

Pinyinlāo

Meaning

  • verbscoop up

Example

他把钥匙从盒子里捞出来了。tā bǎ yào shi cóng hé zi lǐ lāo chū lái le

He scooped the key out of the box.

Illustration for 捞 (scoop up)

More examples

公司通过私人关系捞到了一笔投资。gōng sī tōng guò sī rén guān xì lāo dào le yì bǐ tóu zī

The company got an investment through personal connections.

Core concept

Pulling something out from among water, clutter, or other surrounding material, and sometimes securing a benefit in the same way.

Common phrases

  • 捞钱lāo qián

    make money

  • 捞人lāo rén

    rescue someone

  • 捞到lāo dào

    get

Similar words

捡jiǎn: Pick up something that has fallen onto the ground or floor.
拿ná: Take hold of something and carry or keep it in the hand.
取qǔ: Take or obtain something so that it comes into one's hands.
掏tāo: Reach into a pocket or bag and take something out.

Definition in Chinese

用手或器具从液体、盒子或杂物中把东西捞起或捡出来，也可口语化表示设法取得好处或利益。yòng shǒu huò qì jù cóng yè tǐ hé zi huò zá wù zhōng bǎ dōng xī lāo qǐ huò jiǎn chū lái yě kě kóu yǔ huà biǎo shì shè fǎ qǔ dé hǎo chù huò lì yì

Word origin

捞 (lāo, "scoop up") originally described drawing fish or other objects from water, a physical source for its uses with containers, clutter, and gains.

Usage tips

  • The figurative sense is casual, so it fits spoken stories about gaining a small advantage better than formal reports.

Other meanings

  • fish outverb
  • pick upverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word