How to Write 㓞 (qià) — Meaning “To engrave or to carve.”

Imagine the top part as a chisel tip (like a sharp wedge) and the bottom 刀 as a knife—together they form a carving tool. Picture yourself using this tool to carve the character itself, and remember that 㓞 sounds like "cut" but with a silent 'h' sound.

The top part is written with two horizontal strokes and a downward stroke that connects to the 刀 below—do not separate them. The 刀 radical at the bottom should be slightly narrower than the top, and the left stroke of 刀 should curve gently. A common mistake is making the top too wide, which makes the character unbalanced.

㓞 (qià) means "to engrave" and has a top component plus 刀, while 刅 (rare, often a variant of 创) has a different top shape and means "to create" or "wound." 分 (fēn) means "to divide" and uses 八 (eight) on top of 刀, so it looks like splitting something with a knife—never used for carving. Visually, 㓞's top is compact and solid, unlike the open top of 分.

㓞 is very rare in modern Chinese and mostly appears in classical texts or compound words like 㓞刻 (to engrave) and 㓞印 (to engrave a seal). It is culturally tied to traditional Chinese seal carving and calligraphy, where artists carefully 㓞刻 characters into stone or wood for stamps. You will not find it in daily conversation, but it is valued in art history contexts.

Common words containing 㓞 include: 㓞刻 (qià kè) — To engrave or to carve.; 㓞字 (qià zì) — To carve characters.; 㓞印 (qià yìn) — To engrave a seal..