How do you write an elephant move in xiangqi notation?
These answers restate the rules implemented by our open-source engine, which follows the WXF laws and is regression-tested against the official 110-diagram repetition casebook. Where an answer refers to a specific position, that position lives on the linked reference page, where the build verifies it against the engine before publishing.
Direct answer
The same four-part pattern as a horse: E for elephant, the starting file, + or −, and the destination file. E3+5 reads "elephant on file 3 advances, ending on file 5," matching 相三進五 or 象3進5 depending on which side is moving. It never uses = because an elephant's two-point diagonal step is never purely sideways.
Why it looks just like horse notation
Both pieces move diagonally, and for both a "distance" would not uniquely identify the landing point, so both use a destination file after the direction sign instead. The elephant's move is longer, two points diagonally rather than one-then-one, but the notation grammar does not care about the shape of the path, only that it is diagonal.
What the notation cannot tell you
Whether the elephant's "eye," the point at the middle of its diagonal, was blocked. A move like E3+5 is only legal if that midpoint is empty; the notation records the intended move, and it is the position, not the symbols, that determines whether it was allowed. See how the elephant moves.
Related questions
Can an elephant cross the river in notation, even by mistake?
Not legally. If a transcribed game shows one, treat it as a transcription error rather than a rule exception.
Is the elephant's notation different between Red and Black?
Only in which character is used, 相 for Red and 象 for Black. The grammar and the WXF letter E are identical for both.
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