How to Write 砟 (zhǎ) — Meaning “Fragments / Cinders”

Imagine a stone (石) that suddenly breaks apart with a noise like "炸" — think of the right part 乍 as meaning "sudden" or "first." So you can remember that a stone suddenly shatters into small fragments, which are 砟.

Write the radical 石 first (left side) with its three strokes: horizontal, left-falling, then right-falling and mouth shape. The right side 乍 has five strokes: start with a left-falling, then two horizontal strokes, then a vertical, and finally a right-falling; be careful not to confuse the shape with 作's right part. A common mistake is making the right side too wide—keep it narrow so the character looks balanced.

While 砟 (zhǎ) means fragments or cinders, 矸 (gān) means a type of ore or rock (often "gangue"), and 矻 (kū) means to labor or to be hard-working (as in 矻矻, diligent). Visually, 砟 uses 乍 on the right, while 矸 uses 干 and 矻 uses 乞. Their meanings and pronunciations are completely different.

砟 is not common in everyday speech but appears in technical or regional terms like 煤砟子 (coal cinders) and 石砟 (stone ballast for railways). It is used mainly in northern Chinese dialects or in descriptions of mining, railway construction, or fuel debris.

Common words containing 砟 include: 煤砟子 (méi zhǎ zi) — coal cinders; small coal fragments; 石砟 (shí zhǎ) — stone ballast; 砟子 (zhǎ zi) — Fragments / Cinders.