How to Write 耪 (pǎng) — Meaning “to hoe; to loosen the soil”

Imagine a farmer using a hoe (耒) to work the soil next to a path (旁) — the sound "pǎng" is like the thud of the hoe hitting the ground. Another trick: think of "pang" as the sound you make when you strain to lift the heavy hoe.

Write the left radical 耒 first—it has 6 strokes, starting with two horizontals and a vertical. Then write the right part 旁, which has 10 strokes. A common mistake is making the 耒 too wide or misaligning the two halves; keep them balanced and close together.

耤 (jí) means "to cultivate" but is very rare in modern use. 耥 (tǎng) means "to harrow" or smooth soil after plowing. 耪 specifically refers to hoeing to loosen soil, and visually it has 旁 on the right, while 耥 has 尚 on the right.

耪 is mainly used in agricultural contexts, especially in northern China, for manual hoeing work. The term 耪地 (pǎng dì) is common in farming communities, but the character is not part of everyday city vocabulary or the HSK list.

Common words containing 耪 include: 耪地 (pǎng dì) — to hoe the field; 耪草 (pǎng cǎo) — to hoe weeds; 耪一遍 (pǎng yī biàn) — to hoe once.