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臽

xiàn
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 (archaic) a small pit; a trap
  2. 2 original form of 陷 (to fall into; to sink)
  3. 3 now seen only as a component

Tips

history
Ideographic compound: 人 (a person, drawn as the contracted top stroke) plummeting into 臼 (a mortar-shaped pit). Oracle-bone scenes used a deer falling in; bronze inscriptions standardised it as a person. 臽 is the original of 陷 'to fall into, to be trapped' — the modern 陷 simply adds 阝 (mound/hill) to anchor the location.
usage
Now lives only inside compounds, all carrying the 'enclosed cavity' image: 陷 (fall in / pitfall), 焰 (flame, fire rising from a hollow), 馅 (filling stuffed inside), 谄 (flatter, sink in to please), 萏 (lotus bud, hollow pod). Spotting 臽 quickly reveals the family resemblance.

Components

radical
臼 jiù
mortar; pit
Bottom 臼 is the mortar radical (Kangxi #134) — a wide stone basin drawn from above. In 臽 it functions pictorially as the pit or trap. Person above + pit below = 'falling into a snare', the meaning later spelled out by 陷 (which adds 阝 mound). Same family: 舀, 舅, 舂.
pictograph
⺈ dāo
person stooping (top form)
Top ⺈ is the clawing-hand or stooping-figure top — here functioning pictographically as a person bent forward, mid-fall. Oracle-bone forms drew the full 人 above, sometimes with a deer instead; bronze script standardised it as a stooping human silhouette. In modern type the figure is reduced to this two-stroke cap — body bent just before tipping into the pit below.

Stroke Order

臽 xiàn