How to Write 畎 (quǎn) — Meaning “Small ditch / Drain”

Imagine a big (大) field (田) that needs a small ditch to drain water. The character looks like a person standing in a field, with the left stroke like a small channel. Picture the farmer digging a V-shaped drain through the center of the field.

Write the left part first: a short slash, then a longer left-falling stroke. Next write 田, making sure it is centered and not too wide. The final stroke is a short right-falling dot. A common mistake is to make the left part too big—it should be narrow, about half the width of 田.

畎 (quǎn) has a left component that looks like 大 (big) but is really a ditch, while 男 (nán, man) combines 田 and 力 (strength) — no left strokes. 甸 (diàn, fields around city) has 田 with 勹 (wrap) on top, not a left side. Visually, 畎 has an extra slash and dot on the left, 男 has a force radical below, and 甸 has a bent enclosure above.

畎 is rarely used alone in daily conversation; it appears mainly in classical or agricultural terms like 畎亩 (farmland) and 畎浍 (irrigation ditches). You might encounter it in historical texts or poetry describing rural life, such as in the idiom "畎亩之中" meaning "among the fields."

Common words containing 畎 include: 畎亩 (quǎn mǔ) — Farmland / Fields; 畎浍 (quǎn huì) — Irrigation ditches; 畎流 (quǎn liú) — Ditch water / Stream.