How to Write 鼹 (yǎn) — Meaning “Mole (animal)”

Picture a mouse (鼠) hiding in a hole (匽) underground — that's exactly what a mole does. The shape of 匽 looks like a small cave or burrow, helping you connect the written form to the animal's behavior.

Pay close attention to the left radical 鼠, which has many strokes — especially the tail part at the bottom right. The right side 匽 must be balanced; a common mistake is making the top horizontal line too long or forgetting the inner stroke.

鼹 specifically means mole, while 鼱 (jīng) refers to a shrew and 鼷 (xī) refers to a type of small mouse. Visually, 鼹 has the right side 匽, 鼱 has 青, and 鼷 has 奚 — so look at the right-hand component to tell them apart.

The character appears most often in the compound 鼹鼠 (yǎn shǔ), meaning mole, and in words like 鼹洞 (yǎn dòng) for molehill or burrow. Moles are not common in daily life, but 鼹鼠 appears in children's stories and nature texts, and 鼹皮 (moleskin) refers to a soft fabric originally made from mole fur.

Common words containing 鼹 include: 鼹鼠 (yǎn shǔ) — Mole; 鼹洞 (yǎn dòng) — Molehill or mole burrow; 鼹皮 (yǎn pí) — Moleskin.