扌 points to hand.
to pull, to drag; to seize, to hold; to lengthen; to play (a violin)
COMMON WORD拉 · to pull; to play (a bowed instrument); to drag; to draw; to chat; (coll.) to empty one's bowelsOpen 拉 character →The 立 Character Family
立 recurs in these common characters. Use it to notice a pattern, then check each character’s own pronunciation and tone.
立 is a sound clue; the left component changes the meaning.
Learn the semantic clue, then open the character page to practise it in context.
米 points to grain.
grain, granule; bullet, pellet
COMMON WORD粒 · grain; granule; pellet; particle; classifier for small round objects (peas, bullets, peanuts, pills, grains etc); (Tw) classifier for larger round objects (watermelon etc)Open 粒 character →土 points to earth.
garbage, refuse, trash, waste
COMMON WORD垃圾 · trash; refuse; garbage; (coll.) of poor quality; Taiwan pr. [le4 se4]Open 垃 character →⺮ points to bamboo.
bamboo hat; bamboo covering
Open 笠 character →风 points to wind.
bleak; melancholy; the howl of the wind
Open 飒 character →Start with these six high-value examples, then open the complete 9-character family when you are ready.
View all 9 family characters →How should I study the 立 character family?
Compare the meaning-side component, then learn every member in a common word. The shared component is a memory aid, not a fixed pronunciation rule.