How to Write 閦 (chù) — Meaning “crowd or name of a Buddha”

Imagine a large door (门) with a huge crowd (众) pushing through it at the same time. The three "people" in 众 represent the many individuals in the crowd. This visual helps you link the door radical and the crowd component to the character's meaning.

Write the outer radical 门 first (3 strokes: dot, vertical, hook), then the inner component 众 (6 strokes: three sets of left-falling and right-falling strokes). Keep the inner 众 centered and compact so it fits neatly inside the door frame. A common mistake is making the inner part too large, causing it to stick outside the door.

閦 contains 众 (crowd) and means "crowd" or a Buddha name, while 阑 contains 柬 (bundle) and means "railing" or "screen," and 阒 contains 臭 (smell) and means "quiet" or "still." Visually, the inner part is different: 众 looks like three people, 柬 looks like a bundle of sticks, and 臭 looks like a nose with a dog. In usage, only 閦 is commonly found in Buddhist terms.

閦 is extremely rare in modern Chinese and appears almost exclusively in Buddhist texts, such as the word 阿閦佛 (ā chù fó), the Akshobhya Buddha. You might also encounter it in classical literature or specialized dictionaries. For everyday conversations or writing, you will not need this character.

Common words containing 閦 include: 阿閦佛 (ā chù fú) — Akshobhya Buddha; 閦众 (chù zhòng) — a crowd (Buddhist term); 閦伽 (chù gā) — Akshobhya (transliterated name).