堗

Especially used in the context of traditional Korean ondol (온돌) heating systems.

It can also denote parts of a smoke passage, including the flue connected to underfloor heating (구들).

A phono-semantic compound:

土 (earth) — semantic component, earth, masonry, construction

突 (돌, to protrude) — phonetic component, provides sound and imagery

The character literally conveys something protruding upward from the ground, which aligns well with the physical shape of a chimney emerging from an earthen structure.

굴뚝 (堗) — chimney

연도 (煙道) — smoke passage (functionally related)

구들 (堗 / 溫突) — traditional underfloor heating system (conceptually linked)

Note: In modern Korean, 굴뚝 and 구들 are almost always written in Hangul, not Hanja.

Cultural and historical context:

堗 is closely associated with traditional Korean housing, especially:

- Ondol (온돌) heating systems

- Earthen floors heated by smoke channels

- Chimneys integrated into earthen or stone architecture

Because of this, 堗 is best understood as a culture-specific architectural character, rather than a broadly used Sino-character.

堗 is a good example of a Hanja preserved mainly for Korean semantic needs.

It illustrates how Hanja were sometimes adapted to describe local technologies not central to Chinese culture.

Related characters:

突 — to protrude; suddenly

煙 — smoke

道 — passage; path

窯 — kiln; furnace

竈 / 灶 — stove; hearth