How to Write 楞 (léng) — Meaning “edge / stunned”

Picture a wooden square (木 + 方) covered by a net (罒) — if you walk into this net, you become stunned. The net catches you and leaves you staring blankly, which helps you recall both 'stunned' and 'edge' as the square's corners poke through the net. This visual trick links the three parts to the character's two meanings.

Pay attention to the right side: it is not the character 四 (four) but 罒 (a net radical) followed by 方 (square). The net has a vertical stroke that goes down the middle, and the square must be centered below it. A common mistake is to write the net as four, which changes the shape completely.

The key difference is in the right side: 楞 has a net (罒) above a square (方), while 桫 has 沙 (sand) on the right, and 桲 has 孛 (comet) on the right. Also, their pronunciations are completely different — 楞 is léng, 桫 is suō, and 桲 is bó. Meanings also vary: 楞 means 'edge' or 'stunned', whereas 桫 and 桲 are names of trees.

楞 appears in words like 发楞 (to stare blankly) and 楞住 (to be dazed), where it describes a state of shock or confusion. It also means 'edge' in 楞角 (corner or edge of an object). Note that for the 'stunned' meaning, the character 愣 (with the heart radical) is more common, but 楞 is still seen in informal or written contexts.

Common words containing 楞 include: 发楞 (fā léng) — to stare blankly; to be in a daze; 楞角 (léng jiǎo) — edge / corner; 楞住 (léng zhù) — to be stunned / to be dazed.