HSK 6 · Verbs

摸索 mōsuǒ “to grope” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 摸索 means

  1. to grope
  2. to feel one’s way
  3. to explore
  4. to feel about
  5. to grope about
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • to fumble
  • to do things slowly

How to say 摸索

  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale摸mō1st tone, high and level
  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale索suǒ3rd tone, dipping

摸索 in a sentence

  1. 他们不断地摸索。

    Tāmen búduàn de mōsuǒ.

    They kept feeling their way.

    Sentence #785116 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

How 摸索 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 摸 (mō) with each of its parts in a different colour
摸mōto feel with the hand
  • 扌hand form of 手 · shǒuMeaning part
  • 莫cannot · mòSound part

扌 hints at the meaning (hand); 莫 (mò) hints at the sound. Compare it with mō.

The character 索 (suǒ) with each of its parts in a different colour
索suǒto search
  • 十ten · shí
  • 冖cover · mì
  • 糸silk · mì

How to write 摸索

摸 13 strokes · 索 10 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

摸索 (mōsuǒ) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 摸索 (mōsuǒ). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 摸索

Words with 摸

摸mō · to feel with the hand抚摸fǔmō · to stroke

Words with 索

搜索sōusuǒ · to search (online)思索sīsuǒ · to ponder索取suǒqǔ · to ask for探索tànsuǒ · to explore线索xiànsuǒ · clue索性suǒxìng · might as well

More words: Common Verbs

弥漫mímàn · to fill the air命名mìngmíng · to name磨合móhé · to break in抹杀mǒshā · to write off谋求móuqiú · to seek目睹mùdǔ · to witness沐浴mùyù · to bathe拟定nǐdìng · to draw up

FAQs

摸索 (mōsuǒ) means “to grope” or “to feel one’s way”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it mōsuǒ: mō with a 1st tone, then suǒ with a 3rd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 摸索 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type mosuo with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 摸索 from the suggestions. Typing mosuo into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
摸索 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.