勺 sháo ladle

ladle; spoon; spoonful

怎么记住“勺”: 勹 wrap + 丶 a drop = ladle. The cook wants to wrap up soup for a guest, but not a drop may be spilled, so she reaches for the ladle.

部件结构

勺 = 勹 wrap + 丶 a drop

Gushi 故事

The cook wants to wrap up soup for a guest, but not a drop may be spilled, so she reaches for the ladle.

A bent shape with a single dot inside it: a ladle with something in the bowl. The wrap block is the bend and the dot is what it is carrying.

A spoon or ladle for scooping - the object is almost always 勺子 (sháozi); bare 勺 mostly appears as a measure: 一勺糖 (yì sháo táng) a spoonful of sugar.
Distinguish from 匙 (chí, as in 汤匙 tāngchí) and from 调羹 (tiáogēng) - 勺子 is the general household scoop, wooden or metal.
Note the reading is sháo, not the tempting 'shuò'.