How to Write 岗 (gǎng) — Meaning “Mound; hillock; post”

Imagine a mountain (山) on top of a hill (冈) — a small mound. You can also think of a guard standing on a hill (post), since 岗 often means a duty post in modern usage.

The top radical 山 is narrow and sits above the wider 冈. The bottom part 冈 has an open enclosure: write the outer frame (冂) first, then the two strokes inside (丶 and ㇆). Avoid making the top too wide or the bottom too tall.

岗 means a mound or post, while 屹 (yì) means towering or standing upright (as in 屹立, stand firm) and 屺 (qǐ) refers to a hill without vegetation. Visually, 岗 has 冈 below, 屹 has 乞 below, and 屺 has 己 below — note the different bottom parts.

岗 is very common in workplace vocabulary: 岗位 means job position, 站岗 means to stand guard, and 下岗 means to be laid off from a state-owned enterprise — a term widely used during China's economic reforms in the 1990s. It carries a sense of a fixed post or duty.

Common words containing 岗 include: 岗位 (gǎng wèi) — Post; station; job position; 站岗 (zhàn gǎng) — To stand guard; 下岗 (xià gǎng) — to be laid off; to leave one's post.