How to Write 涿 (zhuō) — Meaning “Zhuo (place name)”

Imagine a pig (豕) diving into water (氵) and making a 'zhuo' splash. The sound 'zhuo' can remind you of the action of a pig plunging, linking the visual components to the pronunciation.

Write the water radical 氵 first (dot, dot, lift). Then the right side 豕: horizontal stroke, left-falling stroke, a curved hook, two left-falling strokes, and two dots at the bottom. A common mistake is making the right side too wide – keep it compact and balanced with the left radical.

The key difference is the right component: 涿 has 豕 (pig), 洁 has 吉 (auspicious), and 洄 has 回 (return). In meaning, 涿 is used only in place names, while 洁 means 'clean' and 洄 refers to 'swirling water' or 'to flow back'. Visually, 豕 has a distinctive curved hook and two dots at the bottom that 吉 and 回 lack.

涿 is almost exclusively used in proper place names, such as 涿州 (a city in Hebei) and 涿鹿 (a county in Hebei). Culturally, 涿鹿 is famous for the legendary Battle of Zhuolu (涿鹿之战) between the Yellow Emperor and Chi You, a key event in ancient Chinese mythology.

Common words containing 涿 include: 涿州 (zhuō zhōu) — Zhuozhou (a city in Hebei); 涿鹿 (zhuō lù) — Zhuolu (a county in Hebei); 涿郡 (zhuō jùn) — Zhuo Prefecture (ancient name).