How to Write 夼 (kuǎng) — Meaning “valley (often used in place names)”

Imagine a big (大) river with three streams (川) running through a wide canyon. The picture of a big river valley helps you recall that 夼 means "valley."

First write the top part 大 with a horizontal stroke then left and right diagonals. Then write three vertical strokes for 川 below. Keep the 大 wide enough to cover the three strokes, and space the vertical strokes evenly to avoid a messy look.

夼 has 大 above 川, while 天 has two horizontal lines on top (one shorter). 买 has a different top (like a hook) and 贝 below. Visually, 夼 looks like a big shape over three vertical lines, unlike the others.

夼 is not common in daily speech and is not in the HSK list. It appears mainly in place names like 大夼 (Dakuang) or 山夼 (mountain valley), so you might see it on maps or in rural geographic names.

Common words containing 夼 include: 大夼 (dà kuǎng) — Dakuang (a place name); 山夼 (shān kuǎng) — Mountain valley; 夼里 (kuǎng lǐ) — in the valley.