How to Write 劐 (huō) — Meaning “to slit / to cut open”

Picture a farmer holding a plow (耒) that has a knife (刂) attached to its blade, slitting open the earth as he walks. The image of a plow cutting through soil with a cutting edge will help you link the form to the meaning. This visual mnemonic ties the two components together into one action.

The left part 耒 is wide and takes up about two-thirds of the character, while the right 刂 is narrow and sits lower. A common mistake is making the 刂 too tall or separating it too far from the left side. Remember that the vertical stroke of 刂 should be straight and slightly shorter than the left side's height.

劐 focuses on cutting open or plowing, with the left component 耒 (plow). 剽 (piāo) means to rob or swift, and its left side is 票 (ticket), while 剿 (jiǎo) means to exterminate and has 巢 (nest) on the left. Visually, the radicals on the left are completely different, so check that part to tell them apart.

劐 is a rare character mainly seen in agricultural or dialectal contexts, such as 劐地 (to plow the ground) or 劐开 (to slit open a bag or animal). It is not used in everyday conversation or HSK vocabulary, so you might encounter it in older texts or regional farming terms. Its practical use is limited to specific cutting or plowing actions.

Common words containing 劐 include: 劐开 (huō kāi) — to slit open; 劐子 (huō zi) — small plow; 劐地 (huō dì) — to plow the ground.