How to Write 遢 (tā) — Meaning “Slovenly; untidy.”

Imagine a person with messy hair (represented by the top part 尸) and a sloppy body (the bottom 也) walking around (the radical 辶) — that person is 邋遢 (lā tā). The shape of 㐌 looks like a disheveled figure, and the walk radical reminds you that they move untidily.

Write the inner component 㐌 first: start with 尸 (3 strokes: horizontal, left-falling, horizontal) then 也 (3 strokes: horizontal, vertical hook, vertical). Finally, add the radical 辶 (3 strokes). A common mistake is making the inner part too large, which pushes the walk radical too far outward; keep 㐌 compact so 辶 can wrap around it neatly.

The key difference is the inner component: 遢 has 㐌 (a messy figure), 逭 has 官 (official), and 逮 has 隶 (slave or capture). Visually, 遢 looks like a messy person inside a walk radical, while 逭 relates to "escape" and 逮 to "catch". Their meanings are completely different, and only 遢 is used in the word 邋遢 meaning sloppy.

遢 never appears alone; it always pairs with 邋 in the common word 邋遢 (lā tā) meaning "sloppy" or "messy." You might also hear 邋遢鬼 (lā tā guǐ) to call someone a slob. The term is informal and often used to describe a person's unkempt appearance or messy habits in everyday conversation.

Common words containing 遢 include: 邋遢 (lā tā) — sloppy / slovenly / messy; 邋遢鬼 (lā tā guǐ) — slob / messy person; 邋邋遢遢 (lā lā tā tà) — very messy / slovenly.