How to Write 砻 (lóng) — Meaning “to hull (grain) / stone mill”

Imagine a dragon (龙) sitting on top of a stone (石) grinding rice. The dragon is using the stone mill to hull grain, so the character looks like a dragon on a stone—砻.

Write the top part 龙 first: horizontal, then left-falling, then hook, then two strokes. Then add the bottom 石: horizontal, left-falling, vertical, horizontal, and a small mouth. A common mistake is making the top 龙 too wide—keep it narrow so the whole character balances vertically.

砻 (lóng) means a stone mill or to hull grain. 矸 (gān) means a rock or stone from a mine, and 矻 (kū) means to toil or work hard. Visually, 砻 has the dragon component on top, while 矸 has 干 (dry) and 矻 has 乞 (beg) as their phonetic parts.

砻 is a specialized character used in farming and food processing, like 砻谷 (hulling rice) or 砻糠 (rice husks). It is not common in daily conversation but appears in agricultural machinery or traditional rice milling contexts.

Common words containing 砻 include: 砻谷 (lóng gǔ) — To hull rice; 砻磨 (lóng mó) — To hull and grind; 砻糠 (lóng kāng) — Rice husks.