How to Write 阔 (kuò) — Meaning “wide; broad; wealthy”

Imagine a large gate (门) that is so wide a lively (活) parade can march through it without stopping. This mental picture of a "lively gate" helps you recall that 阔 means wide, broad, or even wealthy.

When writing 阔, first write the 门 radical with a dot, vertical line, and horizontal hook, then add the 氵 (water) part on the left inside making it narrow. Finally write 舌 on the right, keeping it compact so the whole character has a balanced rectangular shape — avoid making the right side too tall.

The main difference lies in the inside component: 阔 has 活 (alive), while 閦 has 众 (three people) and 阃 has 困 (enclosed). 阔 is common and means wide, broad, or wealthy; the other two are rare and refer to a crowd (閦) or a threshold (阃).

Use 阔 to describe physical width, as in 宽阔 (kuān kuò, wide), or a long separation, as in 阔别 (kuò bié, to be apart for years). It also appears in 阔气 (kuò qi, luxurious) to describe someone's lavish spending or wealthy appearance, often in casual or social contexts.

Common words containing 阔 include: 宽阔 (kuān kuò) — Wide / Broad; 阔别 (kuò bié) — to be separated for a long time; 阔气 (kuò qì) — luxurious; lavish.