How to Write 瓿 (bù) — Meaning “small jar (ancient bronze or clay)”

Picture a small clay jar (瓦) with a mouth (咅) that looks like it is spitting out liquid — the mouth shape 咅 reminds you of something opening. This helps connect the character to its meaning of an ancient small jar used for holding wine or water.

Write the left part 咅 first: a dot, then a short horizontal, then a long horizontal, then a vertical hook, then a small mouth (口). The right part 瓦 has a horizontal stroke, a right-falling hook, and two dots inside. A common mistake is mixing up the order of the dots in 瓦 or making the left part too wide.

瓶 (píng) means a general bottle or vase, while 瓷 (cí) means porcelain or the material itself. 瓿 specifically refers to an ancient small jar made of bronze or clay, and visually it has 咅 on the left instead of 并 (in 瓶) or 次 (in 瓷).

瓿 is very rare in everyday conversation and appears mainly in archaeological or historical texts describing ancient Chinese wine vessels. It is culturally important because bronze and clay 瓿 were used in the Shang and Zhou dynasties for rituals and storage.

Common words containing 瓿 include: 铜瓿 (tóng bù) — Bronze bu (ancient wine vessel); 陶瓿 (táo bù) — pottery jar (ancient vessel); 小瓿 (xiǎo bù) — Small jar.