How to Write 坴 (lù) — Meaning “clod of earth; high land”

Imagine a lump of earth (土) sitting on top of a high hill — the bottom part looks like a small hill lifting it up. The pinyin "lù" sounds like "loo" as in "loo-king down from high land."

Start with the top radical 土: horizontal, vertical, horizontal. Then draw a downward-left stroke (pie), followed by horizontal, vertical, and a final horizontal for the bottom. A common mistake is making the bottom part too wide; keep it narrow so the character stays balanced.

Unlike 在 (zài, meaning 'at'), which has a stroke slanting from top-left to the earth radical, 坴 is a top-bottom structure with no slanting line. 圩 (wéi, meaning 'embankment') is left-right: 土 on the left and 于 on the right, while 坴 has 土 on top and a different bottom component.

坴 is very rare in modern Chinese and is mostly found in classical texts or place names like 坴地 (dry highland). It appears in ancient literature describing terrain, but today it is not used in everyday conversation, making it a scholarly or historical character.

Common words containing 坴 include: 坴坴 (lù lù) — high and dry; 坴地 (lù dì) — dry land; highland; 坴坶 (lù mǔ) — land; soil.