How to Write 楗 (jiàn) — Meaning “door bolt”

Imagine a wooden door (木) that you secure by "jamming" a bolt across it. The right side 建 sounds like the word "jam" in English, so you can think: "I jam a wooden stick, which is the 楗, to lock the door."

Pay attention to the left radical 木: write the horizontal stroke first, then vertical, left-falling, and finally a dot. The right part 建 starts with the 廴 (extend) component, which has a horizontal stroke followed by a downward curve; make sure the 聿 inside is not too wide or tall. Common mistake: forgetting the dot in 木.

柴 (chái) means firewood and has 此 (this) under 木; it is wood for burning. 栓 (shuān) means a bolt or stopper and has 全 (complete) on the right; it can refer to a plug or a latch. 楗 specifically means a door bolt, often a long wooden bar. Visually, 楗 has 建, 柴 has 此, and 栓 has 全.

楗 is not common in everyday conversation; it appears mainly in classical literature or historical descriptions of wooden door bolts. The word 门楗 is seen in old texts. Today, most people say 门闩 (mén shuān) instead. However, 楗 is still used in some compound words like 楗闭 (to bolt a door).

Common words containing 楗 include: 门楗 (mén jiàn) — Door bolt; 楗子 (jiàn zi) — door bolt; 楗闭 (jiàn bì) — to bolt a door.