How to Write 堵 (dǔ) — Meaning “block / stop up / (classifier for walls)”

Picture a person (者) piling up earth (土) to make a wall that blocks the road. This image of a "person with dirt" helps you remember that 堵 means to block or stop up. Think of a traffic jam (堵车) where cars are stuck behind a wall of dirt.

Write the left radical 土 first: horizontal, vertical, horizontal. Then the right part 者 starts with a horizontal stroke, a vertical through it, then the 日 shape below. Keep the left radical narrow and the right side slightly wider. A common mistake is making the left radical too wide, which ruins the balance.

堵 (block) has 土 on the left and 者 on the right. 型 (type) has 刑 on top and 土 on the bottom, meaning a mold or pattern. 垌 (rare) has 土 on the left and 同 on the right, meaning a field or cave. Unlike 堵, neither 型 nor 垌 are used for traffic jams or walls.

堵 is very common in daily life, especially in 堵车 (traffic jam), a frequent experience in Chinese cities. It is also used as a verb in 堵住 (to block up) and as a classifier for walls in 一堵墙 (a wall). The phrase 堵车 reflects a major urban challenge in China.

Common words containing 堵 include: 堵车 (dǔ chē) — traffic jam; 一堵墙 (yī dǔ qiáng) — a wall; 堵住 (dǔ zhù) — block up / stop up.