Radical 廴

8 strokes

stride 廴 (657b) + write with brush 聿 (657a) = build 建

Like “road” (26a), “stride” is written last, after the fragment it encloses.

建设 (553) jiànshè build, install

[建立 (177) jiànlì set up, build]

On the building site the foreman strides about writing on the ground with a brush, to mark out where they should build the walls. / Two dwarf building inspectors come round to check there’ll be enough room for the generator.

We’ve treated this as a basic building block, but if you like you can think of it as “dexterity” plus “two” (or even “dexterity” plus “criminal”) and make up a story accordingly.