How to Write 庋 (guǐ) — Meaning “to store; to put away”

Imagine a small shelf (广) holding books supported by a hand (like 支, which can mean 'support'). This image of placing books on a shelf helps recall the meaning 'to store' or 'to put away'. Think of the hand carefully arranging items on the shelf.

The radical 广 should be written with a broad diagonal stroke starting from the top left, covering the lower part. The lower component 支 has a balanced structure: the top '十' must not be too wide, and the bottom '又' should sit neatly under it. Common mistake is making the 广 too narrow or forgetting the leftward sweep.

平 (píng) means 'flat' or 'peaceful' and has a completely different structure (干 with two dots), while 庋 uses the shelter radical 广. 庀 (pǐ) also has 广 but means 'to prepare' or 'to arrange', and its lower part is 匕 (spoon). 庋 specifically means 'to store' or 'to put away', and its lower part is 支, not 匕.

庋 is a formal character mainly found in writing about storage or collections, such as in museums or libraries. For example, 庋藏 means 'to store in a collection' (like rare books). It is not common in daily conversation but appears in literary or cultural contexts.

Common words containing 庋 include: 庋藏 (guǐ cáng) — to store; to keep in a collection; 庋架 (guǐ jià) — storage rack; shelf; 庋置 (guǐ zhì) — to store away; to place.