How to Write 泌 (bì/mì) — Meaning “To secrete”

Imagine a water droplet (氵) that is 'certainly' (必) going to come out, like sweat or tears. The visual of a drop that must escape can remind you that 泌 means 'to secrete' or 'to ooze'.

Write the water radical (氵) first with three dots, then the right part 必: start with the top dot, then the downward hook, then the left dot, and finally the two right dots. A common mistake is making the right side look like 心 (heart) instead of 必, which has a slanted hook, not a curve.

泌 (bì) means 'to secrete' and uses water plus 必. 㳄 (xián) is a rare character meaning 'saliva' and looks like water above a yawning mouth. 汊 (chà) means 'branch of a river' and combines water with 叉 (fork). So 泌 is about internal release, 㳄 about spit, and 汊 about a river division.

泌 is most common in the word 分泌 (fēn mì), meaning 'to secrete' in biology and medicine, like hormones or sweat. It also appears in the place name 泌阳 (Bìyáng) in Henan, but is rarely used alone outside of compound words.

Common words containing 泌 include: 分泌 (fēn mì) — To secrete; 泌阳 (bì yáng) — Biyang (a place name in Henan Province)..