How to Write 硌 (gè) — Meaning “To press uncomfortably”

Imagine stepping on a small stone (石) with each (各) step you take, and it presses uncomfortably into your foot. This feeling of 'stone on each step' helps you recall 硌 means to press uncomfortably. You can picture a stone in your shoe hurting with every step.

Write the left radical 石 first with five strokes: horizontal, left-falling, horizontal, vertical, horizontal. Then write the right part 各 starting with the top strokes (left-falling, horizontal, right-falling) and then the mouth 口. Keep the left part narrow and the right part wider; common mistakes include making the right part too tall or forgetting the top strokes of 各.

硌 (gè) means to press uncomfortably from a hard object, while 砂 (shā) means sand or small stones and is used in words like 砂锅 (sand pot). 砉 (huā) is a rare onomatopoeic character for a splitting sound, like wood cracking. Unlike 硌, both 砂 and 砉 do not describe a pressing discomfort sensation.

You use 硌 when describing something hard in your shoe that hurts your foot, saying 硌脚 (gè jiǎo). It is also used for biting into a hard piece in food, such as a bone in rice, as 硌牙 (gè yá). The phrase 硌得慌 (gè de huāng) is common to express a general feeling of uncomfortable pressure from an object.

Common words containing 硌 include: 硌脚 (gè jiǎo) — To hurt one's feet from something in the shoe; 硌牙 (gè yá) — To grit one's teeth on something hard; 硌得慌 (gè dé huāng) — To feel uncomfortably pressed.