How to Write 丂 (kǎo) — Meaning “to obstruct; breath struggling to escape (archaic)”

Picture a person trying to speak but a hand (the curved stroke) is pressed against their mouth, blocked by a straight bar (一) in front. This visual of breath being held back helps you recall that 丂 means 'to obstruct' or 'breath struggling to escape'.

Start with the horizontal stroke (一) from left to right, then add the curved stroke that begins at the left end of the horizontal and curves downward and to the right. A common mistake is making the curved stroke too straight or angular—it should be a smooth, hook-like curve.

一 is just a single horizontal line with no extra stroke, while 丂 adds a curved hook. 丁 has a horizontal line with a vertical hook that points down, but 丂's hook curves to the right. In meaning, 一 means 'one', 丁 means 'nail' or 'fourth', and 丂 means 'to obstruct'.

丂 is extremely rare in modern Chinese and mostly appears in ancient texts or as a phonetic component in characters like 考 (kǎo, 'to test'). You won't encounter it in everyday conversation, but it may show up in historical or linguistic studies.

Common words containing 丂 include: 丂丂 (kǎo kǎo) — sound of knocking or chopping; 丂声 (kǎo shēng) — sound of knocking; 丂音 (kǎo yīn) — sound of knocking.