How to Write 犂 (lí) — Meaning “plow (variant)”

Imagine a sharp (利) ox (牛) walking through a field, dragging a metal blade behind it. This picture of a hardworking ox with a sharp plow will help you link the components to the meaning "plow".

The top part 利 is written first, left to right: first 禾 (7 strokes), then 刂 (2 strokes). The bottom 牛 is 4 strokes with the vertical stroke passing through the middle. A common mistake is to make the top too wide or to forget the small horizontal stroke in 牛.

犂 has 利 (sharp) on top, while 牾 has 吾 (wǔ, meaning "I" or "to oppose") and means "to go against" or "disobey". 牿 has 告 (gào, meaning "to tell") and means "a cattle shed" or "to pen up cattle". All share the 牛 radical but differ in their top components and meanings.

犂 is a variant of the more common character 犁 (lí, plow). It appears in agricultural contexts, like 犂地 (plow the land) and 犂刀 (plowshare). It is not part of HSK and is seen more in traditional or literary texts about farming.

Common words containing 犂 include: 犂地 (lí dì) — to plow the land; 犂刀 (lí dāo) — plowshare; coulter; 犂牛 (lí niú) — plow ox.