搔

搔 (Kangxi radical 64, 手+10 in traditional Chinese, Japanese and Korean, 手+9 in simplified Chinese, 13 strokes in traditional Chinese, Japanese and Korean, 12 strokes in simplified Chinese, cangjie input 手水戈戈 (QEII), four-corner 5703₆, composition ⿰扌蚤)

• 掻

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 446, character 25
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 12477
• Dae Jaweon: page 797, character 9
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 3, page 1939, character 6
• Unihan data for U+6414

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *suː): semantic 手 (“hand”) + phonetic 蚤 (OC *ʔsuːʔ, “flea, louse”).

Schuessler (2007) considers 掃 (OC *suːʔ, *suːs, “to brush”) to be cognate and suggests a Sino-Tibetan etymology, relating it to Chepang साव्‌सा (saw-, “to itch”), सोस्‌सा (sos‑, “to itch”), Bodo (India) [script needed] (su-, “to itch”).

Baxter and Sagart (2014) relates it to 爪 (OC *ʔsruːʔ, “claw”).

搔

1. to scratch

   搔癢／搔痒  ―  sāoyǎng  ―  to scratch an itch

2. (archaic, pathology) pruritic skin disease; (specifically) scabies
3. (archaic) to manage, handle

   Synonym: 操

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

搔 (archaic)

1. to snatch, seize

• Dictionary of Chinese Character Variants (教育部異體字字典), A01644
• 羅竹風 [Luo, Zhufeng], editor (1986–1994), “搔”, in 漢語大詞典 [Hanyu Da Cidian] (in Chinese), 1st edition, Shanghai: Shanghai Lexicographical Publishing House, →ISBN

(Hyōgai kanji, kyūjitai kanji, shinjitai form 掻)

1. to scratch
2. to make noise

• Go-on: そう (sō)^{←さう (sau, historical)}
• Kan-on: そう (sō)^{←さう (sau, historical)}
• Kun: かい (kai, 搔い)、かき (kaki, 搔き)、かく (kaku, 搔く)、さわぐ (sawagu, 搔ぐ)

搔 (eumhun 긁을 소 (geulgeul so))

1. to scratch
2. turbulent, clamorous; to annoy, disturb; alternative form of 騷
3. to be moved, be stirred
4. to uphold, guard
5. to capture, seize

搔 (eumhun 손톱 조 (sontop jo))

1. fingernail; alternative form of 爪
2. to clip nails

搔: Hán Việt readings: tao^[1][2][3], trao^[3]
搔: Nôm readings: trau^[3][4], tao^[5], trao^[6]

1. chữ Hán form of tao (“to scratch; turbulent; disturbance”)
2. chữ Nôm form of tao (“I, me”)
3. chữ Nôm form of trao (“to bestow, present; to transmit, impart”)
4. chữ Nôm form of trau (“to polish, burnish”)