How to Write 剖 (pōu) — Meaning “To cut open / To analyze”

Imagine a person using a knife (刂) to cut into a piece of fruit and 'pour' out its contents — the sound 'pōu' is like 'pour.' This visual helps you link the knife action with the idea of opening something for analysis.

Write the left component 咅 first: stroke order is left-falling, horizontal, dot, left-falling, horizontal, horizontal, vertical, then finish with the knife radical on the right. Be careful to keep the right 刂 narrow and aligned vertically — a common mistake is making the knife too wide or misplacing the vertical stroke.

剖 (pōu) means 'cut open' and uses the knife radical 刂, while 刮 (guā) means 'scrape' and also uses 刂 but with a different left part. 到 (dào) means 'arrive' and has a different radical and meaning entirely. Visually, 剖 has a more complex left side compared to the simpler left parts of 刮 and 到.

剖 appears in words like 解剖 (dissection/anatomy) in medical contexts, 剖析 (to analyze) in academic or critical writing, and 剖面 (cross-section) in engineering or geology. It is a formal character, not common in daily conversation, but essential in scientific and analytical fields.

Common words containing 剖 include: 解剖 (jiě pōu) — to dissect; anatomy; 剖析 (pōu xī) — To analyze / To dissect; 剖面 (pōu miàn) — Cross-section.