How to Write 絓 (guà) — Meaning “obstruct”

Imagine a silk thread (糸) getting caught on a jade tablet (圭), causing it to be stuck or obstructed. The sound "guà" can also remind you of "got stuck" — say it like "gua, I'm stuck!" to link the sound and meaning.

The left radical 糸 should be written slightly narrower than the right side, and its bottom hook should not extend too far right. The right part 圭 consists of two stacked 土 (earth) characters — make sure the central vertical line runs straight through both halves without tilting.

絓 is a left-right character (糸 on left, 圭 on right), while 紊 and 素 are top-bottom characters. 紊 (wěn) has 文 above 糸 and means "disorderly", 素 (sù) has a different top component (related to 青) above 糸 and means "plain" — so the position of 糸 and the other component are key visual differences.

絓 is not a common character in everyday Chinese and is not included in the HSK vocabulary. It appears in formal or literary contexts within words like 絓误 (error), 絓结 (entangle), and 絓漏 (omission), often describing obstacles or mistakes in written texts.

Common words containing 絓 include: 絓误 (guà wù) — error; 絓结 (guà jié) — entangle; 絓漏 (guà lòu) — omission.