How to Write 臽 (xiàn) — Meaning “To fall into; a pit or trap.”

Imagine a person standing at the edge of a deep mortar-shaped pit — they lose their balance and fall in. The top part (人) is like the person, and the bottom (臼) is the pit they fall into.

臽 has 8 strokes. The top 人 must be written first, then the 臼 below. A common mistake is making the 臼 too wide or writing the person too small — keep proportions balanced so the person appears to be above the pit.

臼 (jiù) is just the mortar shape with no person above it. 臾 (yú) also has a person inside 臼, but 臽 has the person clearly above the mortar, while 臾 places the person inside with a horizontal stroke dividing them.

臽 is not common in everyday Chinese and usually appears in classical texts or fixed compounds like 臽阱 (trap) and 臽入 (to fall into). Modern Chinese more often uses 陷 (xiàn) for the same idea, so 臽 is mainly seen in literary or historical contexts.

Common words containing 臽 include: 臽阱 (xiàn jǐng) — Trap; pitfall.; 臽坑 (xiàn kēng) — Pitfall; pit.; 臽入 (xiàn rù) — To fall into..