CJK Unified Ideograph-78B6

A regional stone sluice or water gate. Local histories place Ningbo waterworks using 碶 in the Tang period, while the earliest directly checked text is a Northern Song account of Guangde Lake. It describes local people stacking stone to block water, leaving a wooden opening to shut or release as levels changed, and calling the structure 碶.

Its original purpose was practical: keep salt tide out, retain fresh water, irrigate fields, and release floodwater. Historical water-control systems connect 碶 with 闸 and 堰: 闸 is the broad sluice or gate term, while 堰 is a weir or overflow barrier. 碶 is the regional name, not a decorative alternate form. On GB 2312-era text, 碶 may be unavailable and appear as 矸.

The term survives in modern records as part of Ningbo place names such as 石碶 and 新碶. Some named sluices have become bridges or secondary flood defenses; one Ningbo museum record dates a traffic-bridge conversion to 1979. Copy it from the palette above when your font or input method lacks it.

How do I type 碶?

Type qi, then choose 碶 from the candidates. Pinyin input normally omits tone marks; qì is the pronunciation, but qi produces many candidates. For a shape-based method, try Cangjie MRQHK.

Legacy place-name data is the awkward case: confirm the source instead of treating 碶 and 矸 as identical.

Is 碶 the same as 闸, 砌, or 契?

Only 闸 is its close meaning neighbor. 闸 is the general sluice or gate word; 碶 names the regional stone-gate term. 砌 means to build or lay with masonry, while 契 carries meanings such as contract or agreement. The right side of 碶 is 契, but that visual component does not make the words interchangeable.