---
title: "How to Write an Elephant Move in Xiangqi Notation · Xiangqi Master"
description: "An elephant move names the piece, its file, a direction, and a destination file, the same pattern as a horse, because its move is also diagonal."
url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/how-do-you-notate-an-elephant-move
updated: 2026-09-22
source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com)
license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
---

# 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](https://xiangqimaster.com/rules/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.

## Related xiangqi resources

How the elephant moves

Two points diagonally, never crosses the river

Reading notation

炮二平五 and C2=5 — the same move, two ways

Advisors and elephants

The defence that decides most endgames

## Try it on a real board

Reading an answer is one thing; playing it is another. Free, instant, and nothing to install.