How to Write 劁 (qiāo) — Meaning “castrate (livestock)”

Imagine a farmer using a hot, 'burnt' (焦) knife (刂) to castrate a pig. This combines the two components into a vivid scene. You can also think of the sound 'qiao' resembling 'chop' to remember the cutting action.

Write the left part 焦 first with 12 strokes, being careful to include the top 隹 (bird) and the four dots (灬) at the bottom. Then add the right radical 刂 with a vertical stroke and a short horizontal cut. A common mistake is omitting the four bottom dots of 焦, which changes the character completely.

剩 (shèng) means leftover and has the component 乘 on the left, while 割 (gē) means to cut generally and uses the component 害 (harm). In contrast, 劁 specifically means to castrate livestock or cut grass, and its left part is 焦. Visually, 焦 has the bird radical and fire dots, making it distinct from 乘 and 害.

劁 is used mainly in farming, especially in expressions like 劁猪 (castrate pigs) or 劁草 (cut grass). It is very rare in daily life and not included in HSK vocabulary. You might encounter it in older agricultural manuals or when discussing traditional livestock management.

Common words containing 劁 include: 劁猪 (qiāo zhū) — castrate pigs; 劁草 (qiāo cǎo) — cut grass; 劁匠 (qiāo jiàng) — castrator.