How to Write 埽 (sào) — Meaning “broom / dike protection bundle”

Imagine a broom (帚) sweeping the ground (土) to clean it — that gives you the meaning "broom" or "to sweep." For extra help, think of the phrase "sweep the soil" where 埽 sounds like "sow" but with a brushing action.

Start by writing the left radical 土 (three strokes: horizontal, vertical, horizontal), then the right side 帚 (eight strokes). A common mistake is confusing the right side with 扫 (to sweep) — 帚 has a 冖 (lid) over a 巾, not a 扌 next to 彐.

Unlike 型 (which uses 刑 and 土 to mean "mold" or "type") and 垌 (which has 同 and means "field" or "cave"), 埽 specifically combines 土 with 帚 to mean "broom" or a dike protection bundle. Visually, 埽 has the 帚 component, while 型 uses 刑 with a knife radical and 垌 uses 同.

Today 埽 appears mainly in fixed words like 埽帚 (broom), 埽地 (to sweep the floor), and 大埽除 (general cleaning). Culturally, it also refers to ancient river-control bundles made of branches and earth, so you may see it in historical texts about flood prevention.

Common words containing 埽 include: 埽帚 (sào zhǒu) — broom; 大埽除 (dà sào chú) — General cleaning; 埽地 (sào dì) — to sweep the floor.