How to Write 冋 (jiōng) — Meaning “wilderness; variant of 冂”

Picture a rectangular frame (冂) like a border on a map, with a small square (口) standing for a lonely hut in the wilderness. The frame surrounds the square, reminding you that 冋 means a wide, open wilderness with a single landmark.

Write the outer frame 冂 first: start with the left vertical stroke, then the top horizontal and right vertical in one continuous stroke. The inner 口 should be centered and small, not touching the frame; a common mistake is making the inner square too big or pressing against the sides.

冋 has a square 口 (mouth) inside its frame, while 円 has a small dot (丶) inside and means 'round' or 'yen', and 冈 has an inner 乂 (two crossing strokes) and means 'ridge' or 'hill'. The different inner components change both the look and the meaning completely.

冋 is extremely rare in modern Chinese and appears mostly as a variant of the 冂 radical in dictionary sections like 冂部. You will almost never see it in daily writing or speech; it is more likely to be encountered in classical texts or as a component of other uncommon characters.

Common words containing 冋 include: 冋 (jiōng) — wilderness; variant of 冂; 冂部 (jiōng bù) — the 冂 radical section.