How to Write 墼 (jī) — Meaning “adobe brick”

Picture the top part 既 as a stack of bricks that are "already" formed, and the bottom 土 as the ground they sit on. This helps you associate both the shape and the meaning of adobe brick.

The top half 既 has 9 strokes and should be written slightly narrower, while the bottom 土 has 3 strokes and should be centered under it. A common mistake is making the bottom 土 too wide, which throws off the balance.

墼 (jī, brick) uses 既 on top, while 塾 (shú, private school) uses 孰 on top and 塲 (chǎng, field) has 土 on the left with 昜 on the right. Their meanings are completely different: brick versus study versus open space.

墼 is very rare in modern Chinese and mostly appears in historical texts about ancient building materials. For example, 土墼 refers to sun-dried mud bricks used in traditional architecture, especially in northern China.

Common words containing 墼 include: 土墼 (tǔ jī) — Unfired brick; adobe; 墼块 (jī kuài) — adobe block; 墼墙 (jī qiáng) — adobe wall.