How to Write 涝 (lào) — Meaning “waterlogged; flooded”

Imagine a farmer working hard (劳) as water (氵) floods his fields, causing a waterlogged disaster. The image of laboring in floodwaters helps you connect 劳 with the radical 氵 to recall the meaning "waterlogged".

Write the left radical 氵 first (three dots in a diagonal line), then the right part 劳. The top of 劳 is a grass radical 艹 with two horizontal strokes, not three — a common mistake is adding an extra stroke. Keep the right side slightly wider than the left.

涝 (lào) means "waterlogged" and has the phonetic 劳. 沫 (mò) means "foam" and has 末 (mò) on the right. 沭 (shù) is a river name and has 术 (shù) on the right. Visually, the right components differ: 劳, 末, and 术 each have distinct stroke patterns.

涝 is used in weather or agriculture contexts, such as 涝灾 (flood disaster) and 防涝 (preventing waterlogging). It often appears with 旱 (drought) in 旱涝 (drought and flood) to describe the two main natural disasters affecting Chinese farming. The character reflects China's long history of flood control and irrigation.

Common words containing 涝 include: 涝灾 (lào zāi) — flood disaster; waterlogging; 防涝 (fáng lào) — Prevention of waterlogging.; 旱涝 (hàn lào) — drought and waterlogging.