How to Write 凼 (dàng) — Meaning “puddle”

Imagine a small pit 凵 on the ground after rain, and inside that pit is water 水 forming a puddle. The shape of 凼 looks like a box with a puddle of water trapped inside. Picture stepping in it and getting your shoe wet to cement the meaning.

Write the outer frame 凵 first (two strokes: left vertical, then bottom horizontal with right vertical), then add the inner water 水 (four strokes). A common mistake is making the water too large so it touches or crosses the frame — keep water fully inside the pit. The total stroke count is six.

凼 has water 水 inside its pit 凵, meaning puddle, while 凶 has a cross-like shape inside (like a dangerous sign) meaning fierce or evil. 凸 is a single convex bump shape, with no inside element, meaning bulging outward. Remember: water in a pit = puddle; cross in a pit = danger; bump out = convex.

凼 is not part of HSK and is most common in southern Chinese dialects or rural areas for describing puddles on roads or in fields. You might see it in compound words like 水凼 (puddle) or 坑凼 (pit with water). It is not used in formal writing but appears in local weather reports or daily conversation.

Common words containing 凼 include: 水凼 (shuǐ dàng) — Puddle; 坑凼 (kēng dàng) — Pit; puddle.; 积凼 (jī dàng) — puddle.