操cāo
to conduct, to manage, to run. 16 strokes, radical 扌, first met in HSK 4.
What 操 is made of
扌 (shǒu, hand) and 喿 (zào, the sound of birds chirping).
扌 carries the meaning — hand — and 喿 carries the sound.
How to write 操
Strokes 1–3 write 扌, then strokes 4–16 write 喿.
Free, with no account: the app draws each stroke, then you write it and it says which stroke went wrong.
Print a 米字格 practice sheet for 操
Words that use 操
| 操场 | sports ground, playground 学校里供学生跑步运动的场地 学子们清晨在操场上跑步。Every morning the students run laps on the sports ground. Lesson 250, 本科求索与学海启航 · 校园治学与青春求索 · Campus Academics, Intellectual Debate & Graduation |
| 操作 | to operate machinery 按照方法使用机器或仪器 学生在实验室熟练操作仪器。The students skilfully operate the instruments in the lab. Lesson 253, 躬行实践与格物敏求 · 校园治学与青春求索 · Campus Academics, Intellectual Debate & Graduation |
| 体操 | gymnastics, calisthenics 有规律地活动身体各部位的运动 清晨操场上，师生认真做体操。Early in the morning, teachers and students diligently did calisthenics. Lesson 342, 资政强基与恪尽职守 · 资政明辨与赤子勇毅 · Insightful Governance & Innocent Courage |
| 操纵 | to operate, manipulate (machinery) 指熟练地控制机械运转 工程师熟练操纵起重机。The engineer skillfully operated the crane. Lesson 550, 神工妙算 · 笃行实业与经世致远 · Strategic Logistics & Civic Infrastructure |
Characters that share the sound part 喿
Written with the same phonetic, so their readings tend to rhyme with each other.
More characters with the radical 扌
All 105 of them, and what the radical means, on the 手 radical page.