How to Write 彼 (bǐ) — Meaning “that; those; the other”

Imagine you see a person (彳) walking toward a leather (皮) bag lying on the ground. You point to the bag and say, 'That (彼) bag is yours!' The image of a step and leather helps you recall the shape and the meaning 'that.'

First write the left radical 彳 with three strokes: left-falling, left-falling, vertical line. Then write the right part 皮 starting with a horizontal hook, followed by a left-falling, a vertical, and a final right-falling stroke. A common mistake is making the right side too wide or misaligning the vertical stroke in 皮; keep the left part narrow and the right part balanced.

All three characters share the radical 彳, but their right parts differ: 彷 has 方 (square), 彸 has 中 (middle), and 彼 has 皮 (skin). Their meanings are also distinct: 彷 means 'to wander' or 'to hesitate', 彸 means 'anxious', while 彼 means 'that' or 'the other'. Visually, 彼's right side looks like a small leather pouch, while the others have different shapes.

彼 is commonly found in formal or literary expressions, such as 彼此 (bǐ cǐ) meaning 'each other' and 彼岸 (bǐ àn) meaning 'the other shore' or 'the opposite side'. It is also used in the phrase 知己知彼 (zhī jǐ zhī bǐ) from the Art of War, meaning 'know yourself and know the enemy'. In everyday speech, 彼 is less frequent than its opposite 此 (this), but it remains important in set phrases and written Chinese.

Common words containing 彼 include: 彼此 (bǐ cǐ) — each other; one another; 彼岸 (bǐ àn) — the other shore; the other side; 知彼 (zhī bǐ) — To know the other side; to know the enemy..