How to Write 敻 (xiòng) — Meaning “distant; far; remote”

Imagine walking (夂) into a cave (穴) that is very far away. This mental picture links the components to the meaning of "distant" and helps you recall the character.

Pay attention to the top part: it is 穴, which has a dot at the beginning and a hook stroke. The bottom 夂 has three strokes: a left-falling stroke, a horizontal-falling hook, and a right-falling stroke. A common mistake is to mix up the order of the dots in 穴 or to write 夂 too wide.

Three common words are 敻远 (xiòng yuǎn) meaning "far away," 敻绝 (xiòng jué) meaning "peerless" or "extremely distant," and 敻古 (xiòng gǔ) meaning "remote antiquity." These are used in formal or literary contexts to emphasize great distance in space or time.

敻 is a rare character found mainly in classical Chinese poems and formal writing. It is not used in everyday conversation, but you might encounter it in historical texts or literary works describing distant places or ancient times.

Common words containing 敻 include: 敻远 (xiòng yuǎn) — far away; remote; 敻绝 (xiòng jué) — peerless; extremely distant; 敻古 (xiòng gǔ) — remote antiquity.