How to Write 堀 (kū) — Meaning “cave; hole; den”

Imagine that the right part 屈 looks like a person bending down to enter a small hole. The left side 土 reminds you this hole is in the earth, so 堀 means a cave or den dug into the ground.

Write 土 first (3 strokes), then write 屈 (8 strokes) from top to bottom: first the outer frame, then the inner 出 part. A common mistake is confusing the right side with 掘 (which has a hand radical) — make sure the right side is 屈, not 出 with a 扌.

型 (mold) has 刑 on the right and means a model or type, not a hole. 垌 (often read dòng) has 同 on the right and can mean a cave or a field, but it is less common. 堀 specifically means a cave, den, or underground room, and is used in words like 堀室 and 堀穴.

堀 is not part of the common HSK vocabulary, but it appears in place names (like 龙堀 in Taiwan) and in literary or historical texts to describe underground rooms or animal dens. It is also found in the words 堀室 (cellar) and 堀穴 (cave), though these are less frequent in everyday speech.

Common words containing 堀 include: 堀室 (kū shì) — underground room; cellar; 堀穴 (kū xué) — cave; den; 龙堀 (lóng kū) — Longku (a place name).