How to Write 砬 (lá) — Meaning “steep cliff”

Imagine a stone (石) that stands (立) tall like a wall — that is a steep cliff. Picture a rock pillar suddenly rising from the ground to remember the meaning 'steep cliff'.

The left radical 石 is narrower and the right part 立 is wider. Write the horizontal strokes in 立 slightly slanted upward. Common mistake: making the left part too wide or forgetting the final stroke of 立 as a horizontal line.

砬 (lá) means a steep cliff or crag. 矸 (gān) means 'rock waste' or 'gangue' in mining, not a natural cliff. 矻 (kū) means 'hard work' or 'to toil' and is rarely used alone. Visually, 砬 has 立 on the right, while 矸 has 干 and 矻 has 乞.

砬 is a regional character used mainly in northeastern Chinese dialects, especially in place names like 砬子 (lá zi) for a steep rocky hill. It is not in HSK and rarely appears in standard Mandarin writing, but you may see it on hiking maps or local geography terms.

Common words containing 砬 include: 砬子 (lá zi) — steep rock face; 石砬子 (shí lá zi) — crag; 砬头 (lá tóu) — crag / rock.