How to Write 甓 (pì) — Meaning “brick”

Think of the left part 辟 as a 'brick wall' being 'opened' up, and the right part 瓦 as the 'tile' material. Imagine a worker using a tool to open a pile of bricks, with the 瓦 reminding you that bricks are made of clay—this links the shape to the meaning.

The left side 辟 has 13 strokes and is slightly taller than the right side 瓦, which has 4 strokes. Be careful to write the left component with balanced spacing, especially the bottom 口 and the 辛 above; a common mistake is making the left side too narrow or misplacing the last stroke of 瓦 (which sweeps right).

甓 (brick) uses 瓦 on the right and has the phonetic 辟, while 甏 (a jar or urn) has 瓦 with the phonetic 彭, and 甑 (a rice steamer) has 瓦 with the phonetic 曾. Visually, 甓 has a more complex left side (辟) compared to 甏's left (彭) and 甑's top (曾), and their meanings all relate to different clay objects.

甓 is a classical or literary character rarely used in daily conversation, mainly appearing in fixed phrases like 砖甓 (bricks and tiles) or 运甓 (a metaphor for diligence, from the story of a man moving bricks to stay industrious). It is most often encountered in historical texts or cultural references, not in common speech.

Common words containing 甓 include: 砖甓 (zhuān pì) — Brick and tile; 运甓 (yùn pì) — to move bricks (a metaphor for diligence); 甓社 (pì shè) — Pishe (often referring to Pishe Lake).