How to Write 埏 (shān) — Meaning “Boundary; path to a tomb.”

Imagine a long line of dirt (土) stretching (延) from a village to a distant tomb. This visual of an earth pathway extending to a burial site directly mirrors the character's meaning of a 'path to a tomb'.

The right part 延 has a specific stroke order: first the 廴 (3 strokes: horizontal, horizontal, vertical curve) then the 正 (5 strokes: horizontal, vertical, horizontal, vertical, horizontal). A common mistake is writing the 廴 part too short or merging its last stroke with the top of 正.

圻 (qí) means a boundary of a thousand li or a limit, and uses 斤 (axe) on the right, while 埏 uses 延 (extend). 圼 (niè) is an ancient character for a short wall or boundary, often written with 折 (to break), but 埏 specifically carries the idea of a path to a tomb, not just any boundary.

埏 is very rare in everyday speech and mostly appears in classical texts or specialized vocabulary. Its common words include 埏埴 (shān zhí) meaning 'to knead clay' for pottery, and 埏道 (shān dào) for a tomb passage, so you may encounter it in historical or archaeological writing about ancient burial customs.

Common words containing 埏 include: 埏埴 (shān zhí) — To knead clay; pottery.; 埏揉 (shān róu) — To knead and mold.; 埏道 (shān dào) — Path leading to a tomb..