How to Write 檩 (lǐn) — Meaning “purlin (roof beam)”

Imagine a wooden roof beam (木) that is so strong it can "receive" (禀) the heavy roof above it. Picture the beam as a sturdy line holding up the house, and the sounds lǐn remind you of 'lin' in 'lining' — the beam lines the roof.

The character has 17 strokes, so pay attention to the right side 禀: it starts with a dot at the top, then a horizontal stroke, then a '口' shape, and finally '示' below. A common mistake is to make the middle part too wide or to forget the dot on top of 禀.

檩 is a construction term meaning 'purlin' (roof beam), while 槭 (qì) means 'maple tree' and 槲 (hú) means 'oak tree'. Visually, 檩 has the right part 禀, but 槭 has 戚 and 槲 has 斛 — their radicals are all 木, but the meanings are completely different: one is building material, the others are types of trees.

檩 appears mainly in architectural contexts, such as 檩条 (roof purlins used in traditional wood-frame houses) and 房檩 (the main horizontal beams of a room). You might find this character in descriptions of old Chinese buildings or in construction manuals, but it is uncommon in everyday conversation.

Common words containing 檩 include: 檩条 (lǐn tiáo) — purlin; 房檩 (fáng lǐn) — purlin; 横檩 (héng lǐn) — purlin; horizontal beam.