How to Write 腔 (qiāng) — Meaning “Cavity / Chamber / Accent”

Imagine a hollow moon (空) made of flesh (⺼)—a "cavity" in your body. The right part 空 looks like a roof (宀) over an empty space (工), so picture a fleshy empty room inside you.

Pay attention to the balance: the left radical ⺼ is narrow, while the right side 空 is wider. The top of 空 has a dot above a roof (宀), and the bottom 工 should not be too large. A common mistake is making the left side too wide or forgetting the dot on top.

能 (néng, ability) has a completely different meaning and structure—its left half is also ⺼ but the right part is different (two 匕 shapes). 脆 (cuì, crispy/fragile) uses ⺼ on the left and 危 on the right, meaning "danger," so it relates to food texture, not body cavities. Visually, 腔 has 空 on the right, while 脆 has 危.

腔 is common in medical terms like 口腔 (oral cavity) and 胸腔 (thoracic cavity). It also appears in 腔调 (qiāng diào) meaning "accent" or "tone of voice," as in a person's speech style. This character is not part of HSK vocabulary but is useful for learners interested in anatomy or describing regional accents.

Common words containing 腔 include: 口腔 (kǒu qiāng) — oral cavity; 腔调 (qiāng diào) — Accent / Tone; 胸腔 (xiōng qiāng) — thoracic cavity; chest cavity.