How to Write 圤 (pú) — Meaning “Clod of earth (archaic/dialect)”

Imagine a fortune teller performing divination (卜) on a small clod of earth (土). The clod is so plain that the only sound it makes is a soft “pú”. This mental picture links the shape to the meaning and sound.

Write the left radical 土 first with three strokes: horizontal, vertical, horizontal. Then add the right part 卜 with a vertical stroke followed by a dot to the right. Keep the two parts balanced — the left side should be slightly narrower than the right dot.

圤 has an extra right component 卜, while 土 is just the earth radical alone. 圣 uses a different top part (又) above 土, meaning “holy”. Visually, 圤 is wider because it has two sides, whereas 土 and 圣 are more compact.

圤 is very rare in modern Chinese and not part of the HSK vocabulary. It appears in old texts to mean a clod of earth, or in the onomatopoeic word 圤圤 (pú pú) describing a pattering sound. You may encounter it in dialect or classical literature.

Common words containing 圤 include: 圤圤 (pú pú) — Pattering sound (onomatopoeia); 圤地 (pú dì) — A plot of land; 圤头 (pú tóu) — Clod of earth (old term).