How to Write 桼 (qī) — Meaning “Lacquer (ancient form)”

Imagine a tree (木) with drops of sap (water, 氺) dripping down from it. The shape of the character looks like a tree with liquid underneath. This visual of tree sap helps link to the meaning of lacquer.

The top 木 should be written slightly narrower, with the vertical stroke continuing into the bottom part. The bottom 氺 has a short vertical stroke in the center with two dots on each side, making it wider than 木. A common mistake is making the bottom too narrow or confusing the bottom with 水.

桼 is a top-bottom structure (木 over 氺), while 枯 and 枰 are left-right structures with 木 on the left. 枯 (kū) means withered and has 古 (old) on the right, while 枰 (píng) means chessboard and has 平 (flat) on the right. Their meanings and pronunciations are completely different.

桼 is an ancient form of the character for lacquer, now largely replaced by 漆 in modern Chinese. It appears in historical texts and some compound words like 桼树 (lacquer tree) and 桼器 (lacquerware). Lacquerware has a long history in Chinese culture, used for fine art and furniture.

Common words containing 桼 include: 桼树 (qī shù) — Lacquer tree; 桼工 (qī gōng) — Lacquer worker; 桼器 (qī qì) — Lacquerware.