坞 (wù): (bound form) low area within a surrounding barrier, (literary) small castle, fort

坞 (wù) is a Chinese character meaning “(bound form) low area within a surrounding barrier.” Outside the HSK 3.0 syllabus (CLEC 2022), it is composed of 土 (semantic) and 乌 (phonetic). It ranks #1551 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 坞 earth. Its radical form 土 (earth) appears in many related characters such as 土 (tǔ, earth, soil), 地 (dì, earth, ground), 场 (chǎng, field, place).

Spoken pronunciation

Radical: 土 earth7 strokesFrequency #1551土 semantic 乌 phonetic

Definitions

(bound form) low area within a surrounding barrier
(literary) small castle
fort

Etymology & Origin

坞

pictophoneticearth

Decomposition: ⿰土乌 (layout: left-right)

Components:土semantic 乌phonetic

Stroke Order

Practice writing 坞 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.

Words & Compounds

Common Compounds

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
好莱坞proper-noun	hǎo lái wù	Hollywood
船坞noun	chuán wù	dock
花坞	huā wù	sunken flower-bed
山坞noun	shān wù	nook
坞站noun	wù zhàn	docking station
宝莱坞proper-noun	bǎo lái wù	Bollywood (film industry based in Mumbai, India)
扩展坞noun	kuò zhǎn wù	docking station
坞壁	wù bì	small fortress
拓展坞	tuò zhǎn wù	(computing) hub
坞堡	wù bǎo	small fortress

Total compounds

As first character

As last character

As middle character

坞 appears in 10 compound words: 30 as the first character, 70 as the last, and 0 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

坞地改革让农民有了自己的田地。

wù dì gǎi gé ràng nóng mín yǒu le zì jǐ de tián dì .

Land reform gave farmers their own fields.

IT之家Sep 2026

《GTA 6》热度空前，消息称好莱坞片方担忧其抢走观众

G T A 6 rè dù kōng qián , xiāo xī chèn hǎo lái wù piàn fāng dān yōu qí qiǎng zǒu guàn zhòng

"GTA 6" is generating unprecedented buzz; reports suggest Hollywood studios are concerned it will draw away audiences

WorldjournalMar 2026

好莱坞女星被血浆洗脸点名台湾“2地标”当邪教...

hǎo lái wù nǚ xīng bèi xiě jiāng xǐ liǎn diǎn míng tái wān 2 dì biāo dāng xié jiào . . .

Hollywood Actress Has Blood Splashed on Her Face; Names Two Taiwanese "Landmarks" as Cult Sites...

StheadlineMar 2026

昂船洲政府船坞维修中船只起火浓烟席卷半空消防轮协助...

áng chuán zhōu zhèng fǔ chuán wù wéi xiū zhōng chuán zhī qǐ huǒ nóng yān xí juǎn bàn kōng xiāo fáng lún xié zhù . . .

A fire broke out on a vessel undergoing repairs at the Ang Chuan Chau Government Shipyard; thick smoke billowed into the sky; fireboats assisted...

大紀元 | 大紀元新聞網Feb 2026

组图:川普德州造势好莱坞明星到场力挺

zǔ tú : chuān pǔ dé zhōu zào shì hǎo lái wù míng xīng dào chǎng lì tǐng

Photo Gallery: Trump Holds Rally in Texas; Hollywood Stars Turn Out to Show Support

UdnnewsindexFeb 2026

...前最后准备!陆第2艘国产大邮轮下月中旬出坞

. . . qián zuì hòu zhǔn bèi ! lù dì 2 sōu guó chǎn dà yóu lún xià yuè zhōng xún chū wù

...Final preparations! China's second domestically built large cruise ship is set to be launched in mid-next month

Character Family

Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 土 (earth) component

在zài 地dì 场chǎng 基jī 城chéng 型xíng 境jìng 增zēng 坏huài 块kuài

Related Characters

土tǔ 地dì 场chǎng 城chéng 坐zuò 块kuài 坏huài 境jìng 增zēng 培péi

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 坞 (wù) mean in Chinese?

坞 (wù) primarily means "(bound form) low area within a surrounding barrier." It is not part of the HSK 3.0 syllabus. It ranks #1551 in character frequency.

What's the difference between 坞 and 大?

坞 (wù) and 大 (dà) are often confused. antonym. The key distinguishing feature: 坞 (small) vs 大 (big).

How many strokes does 坞 have?

坞 is written with 7 strokes. The correct stroke order matters for recognition and handwriting speed — practice with the animated guide above to build proper technique.

What is the radical of 坞?

The radical associated with 坞 is 土 (earth). This radical appears in many characters related to earth.

What are the components of 坞?

坞 is composed of: 土 (semantic), 乌 (phonetic). Its IDS decomposition is ⿰土乌 with a left-right layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.

What are common words containing 坞?

Common words with 坞 include: 好莱坞 (hǎo lái wù, "Hollywood"); 船坞 (chuán wù, "dock"); 花坞 (huā wù, "sunken flower-bed"); 山坞 (shān wù, "nook"); 坞站 (wù zhàn, "docking station"). There are over 10 compound words containing this character.

Is 坞 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?

No. The simplified form is 坞 and the traditional form is 塢.

Practice writing 坞 with real-time feedback

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