How to Write 脞 (cuǒ) — Meaning “minced meat; trifles”

Imagine a tiny piece of meat (月) sitting (坐) alone on a plate, so small and trivial that it hardly matters. This image links the character to both "minced meat" and the idea of something unimportant.

The left radical 月 has two horizontal strokes inside, not dots. The right part 坐 begins with a top "人" (person) followed by "土" (earth); make sure the person covers the earth evenly. A common mistake is making the 月 too wide, upsetting the balance of the 11 strokes.

While all three have the 月 radical, 脞 has 坐 (person over earth) on the right and means "minced meat" or "trifles." 朐 has 句 (wrap) on the right and means "dried meat" or "bent," while 朔 has 屰 (reverse) on the right and means "new moon." Visually, the right-side components are distinct and give different meanings.

脞 is rare and mainly appears in literary or formal contexts, such as the word 丛脞 (cóng cuǒ) meaning "trivial matters" or 脞谈 (cuǒ tán) for "casual chat." It is not part of HSK vocabulary and carries a slightly negative tone, suggesting insignificance or pettiness.

Common words containing 脞 include: 丛脞 (cóng cuǒ) — Trifling / Trivial; 脞谈 (cuǒ tán) — casual chat; trivial talk; 脞说 (cuǒ shuō) — trivial talk; fragmentary accounts.