How to Write 垩 (è) — Meaning “white earth; chalk”

Imagine that the top part 土 looks like a pile of white earth, and the bottom part 亚 resembles a chalk stick lying on a desk. This visual can help you remember that 垩 means chalk, a substance made from white earth.

Write the top 土 first (3 strokes: horizontal, vertical, horizontal), then the bottom 亚 (6 strokes: horizontal, vertical, horizontal, horizontal, vertical, horizontal). A common mistake is making the bottom 亚 too tall or unevenly spacing its two inner horizontal lines. Keep the whole character balanced and compact.

垩 has a top-bottom structure with 土 above 亚, while 圻 is left-right with 土 on the left and 斤 on the right. 圼 also has a top-bottom structure but uses 日 (sun) instead of 亚 below 土. Their meanings are completely different: 垩 means chalk, 圻 means a boundary, and 圼 is a rare character.

垩 appears mainly in scientific terms like 白垩纪 (Cretaceous Period) and 垩土 (white clay). In daily life, 白垩 (chalk) exists but is less common than 粉笔 for writing chalk. Culturally, 白垩纪 is famous for dinosaurs, so the character often shows up in dinosaur and geology discussions.

Common words containing 垩 include: 白垩 (bái è) — chalk; 垩土 (è tǔ) — white clay; 白垩纪 (bái è jì) — Cretaceous Period.