How to Write 樯 (qiáng) — Meaning “mast”

Imagine a tall wooden mast (木) rising from a ship, and a crane swinging a grain bag (啬) up to it. The picture of wood and a harvest crane together can remind you that 樯 (qiáng) is the mast that holds the sails.

Start with the left radical 木, writing the horizontal stroke, then vertical, then left-falling stroke, then right dot. The right part 啬 is taller — be careful to write its top (一+口) compactly and not make the lower part (回) too wide. A common mistake is to make the left and right sides unbalanced, so keep the left narrow and the right slightly wider.

樯 means 'mast' and uses the 木 radical, while 椴 (duàn) means 'linden tree' or a type of wood, and 椹 (zhēn) means 'mulberry' or 'wooden anvil'. Visually, 椴 has 段 on the right, and 椹 has 甚 on the right, so 樯's right side 啬 is unique and helps you distinguish it as a nautical term.

樯 is not common in daily conversation but appears in classical poetry and marine contexts, often in the word 帆樯 (fān qiáng) meaning 'masts and sails'. It carries a poetic, ancient feel, evoking images of old Chinese ships — for example, in the famous line from Su Shi's poem about the Battle of Red Cliff, 樯橹 (qiáng lǔ) refers to the enemy fleet's masts and oars being destroyed.

Common words containing 樯 include: 帆樯 (fān qiáng) — masts and sails; 樯橹 (qiáng lǔ) — masts and oars; the fleet; 樯头 (qiáng tóu) — masthead.