How to Write 隧 (suì) — Meaning “tunnel”

Imagine a 'tunnel' (隧) that you walk through following a 'path' (the radical 阝 represents a path on a hillside). The right side 遂 looks like a person (辶) making a 'sui' sound while moving into the hill. Picture saying 'swee' as you enter a dark tunnel.

The left radical 阝 is written first with two strokes: a hook and a vertical line; keep it narrow. The right side 遂 has 12 strokes—note the 辶 (walk radical) at the bottom requires careful looping. Common mistake: making the left radical too wide or forgetting the dot above the 豕 inside 遂.

Although all three share the 阝 radical, 隧 means 'tunnel' and is pronounced suì. 鄙 (bǐ) means 'vulgar' or 'humble' and has a different right component (啚). 鄞 (yín) is a place name for an ancient city, with the right part 堇 meaning 'clay'. Their meanings are completely unrelated despite similar visual structure.

隧 appears almost exclusively in words related to underground passages, most commonly 隧道 (suìdào, tunnel). You see it in transportation contexts, like 过隧道 (guò suìdào, go through a tunnel) or 隧道口 (suìdào kǒu, tunnel entrance). It is not used in everyday conversation but is essential for travel and engineering vocabulary.

Common words containing 隧 include: 隧道 (suì dào) — tunnel; 过隧道 (guò suì dào) — to go through a tunnel; 隧道口 (suì dào kǒu) — tunnel entrance.