How to Write 椟 (dú) — Meaning “Casket / case / box”

Imagine a wooden box (木) that a merchant wants to "sell" (卖) because it is beautiful, but the buyer only wants the pearl inside. This connects to the idiom 买椟还珠, helping you recall that 椟 means a casket.

Write the left radical 木 with its horizontal stroke shorter than the one in the right part. The right component 卖 has a top part like 十 followed by 冖 and 头, so be careful to write it compactly. A common mistake is making the right side too wide, but the character should be balanced with the left radical narrower.

椟 (dú, casket) uses the wood radical with a "sell" component, while 柴 (chái, firewood) uses wood with "this" (此) and means firewood. 栓 (shuān, bolt/plug) uses wood with "whole" (全) and refers to a stopper or bolt. Visually, 椟 has 卖 on the right, 柴 has 此, and 栓 has 全, so the right side differs.

椟 is rarely used alone and mostly appears in the classical idiom 买椟还珠 (buy the casket, return the pearl), which criticizes poor judgment. It can also be found in formal or literary contexts, such as 椟藏 meaning to store in a box. This character is not common in daily speech but remains important for understanding Chinese literature and idioms.

Common words containing 椟 include: 木椟 (mù dú) — wooden casket; 买椟还珠 (mǎi dú huán zhū) — to keep the casket and return the pearl; showing poor judgment; 椟藏 (dú cáng) — To store in a box.