How to Write 斲 (zhuó) — Meaning “to chop; to carve; to hack”

Imagine a hand holding an axe (斤) to chop wood. The left side looks like a hand with fingers gripping, and the right side is the blade. The sound 'zhuó' mimics the sound of hacking.

Start with the left side, writing its many horizontal and vertical strokes carefully, then add the right radical 斤. A common mistake is making the left side too narrow — it should be wider than 斤, and the final vertical stroke of 斤 should align with the bottom.

斲 has a unique left component (a hand carving) while 斯 has 其 (meaning 'this') on the left and 新 has 亲 (meaning 'parent') above 斤. In meaning, 斲 is about cutting and carving, not about 'this' or 'new' like the others.

斲 is very rare in everyday Chinese and appears mostly in classical literature or idioms. One example is 斲轮 (making a wheel), which metaphorically describes a master craftsman with deep skill.

Common words containing 斲 include: 斲削 (zhuó xuē) — to plane; to trim; to pare; 斲丧 (zhuó sàng) — to ruin; to undermine (one's health or spirit); 斲轮 (zhuó lún) — to make a wheel; (metaphor) a master craftsman.