How to Write 坞 (wù) — Meaning “dock / basin / lowland”

Imagine a crow (乌) sitting on a pile of earth (土) next to a dock where boats are tied up. The crow is confused because the water is gone and only a muddy basin remains. This visual helps link the components to the meaning of dock or lowland.

Write the left radical 土 first (horizontal, vertical, horizontal), then the right part 乌 (left vertical, horizontal, horizontal, vertical hook). A common mistake is adding a dot above 乌 — remember that 乌 has no dot, unlike 鸟. The left side should be slightly narrower than the right.

坞 has the right component 乌 (crow shape with no dot), while 圣 (shèng, holy) has 又 (hand shape) above 土, and 圤 (pǔ) has 卜 (divination) on the right. Visually, 乌 has a horizontal top that continues into a curve, whereas 又 is like a cross. Their meanings are also unrelated: 坞 means dock, 圣 means holy, and 圤 is a rare character for a kind of soil.

坞 appears in common words like 船坞 (chuán wù, dock for ships), 好莱坞 (hǎo lái wù, Hollywood), and 山坞 (shān wù, mountain valley). Hollywood is a famous cultural reference for the film industry, so you often see 坞 in place names. It is not a high-frequency character outside these specific terms.

Common words containing 坞 include: 船坞 (chuán wù) — Dock; 好莱坞 (hǎo lái wù) — Hollywood; 山坞 (shān wù) — Mountain valley or basin.