How to Write 筐 (kuāng) — Meaning “Basket”

Think of a bamboo ⺮ basket shaped like a square box 匡 — the top part shows the material, and the bottom shows the shape. You can imagine a "king" (匡 sounds like "king") sitting in a bamboo basket. This visual helps you remember the meaning and pronunciation.

Write the bamboo radical ⺮ first as two short left-falling strokes and a horizontal hook (7 strokes). Then write 匡: start with the left vertical, then the horizontal, then the right vertical, and finally the bottom horizontal — making a complete frame. A common mistake is writing the bamboo radical too narrow or forgetting the hook at the end of the last bamboo stroke.

筐 has the bamboo radical on top and the box-like 匡 below, meaning a physical basket. 笑 (xiào, smile) has the bamboo radical on top and 夭 below, which looks different — 夭 has a different shape (a person bending). 笔 (bǐ, pen/writing brush) also has the bamboo radical on top, but the bottom is 毛 (hair/fur) because old brushes were made of bamboo and hair. Focus on the bottom component to tell them apart.

筐 is used for any kind of basket, especially woven ones like 竹筐 (bamboo basket) or 箩筐 (large bamboo basket for harvesting). It appears in everyday objects, such as shopping baskets or laundry baskets. Culturally, Chinese baskets are traditionally handmade from bamboo and are still used in rural areas for farming and storage, symbolizing practicality and craftsmanship.

Common words containing 筐 include: 竹筐 (zhú kuāng) — Bamboo basket; 筐子 (kuāng zi) — Basket; 箩筐 (luó kuāng) — large bamboo basket.