How to Write 狴 (bì) — Meaning “mythical beast (component)”

Imagine a beast (犭) trapped under a net (the top part of 畢) in a prison cell. This beast is Bi'an, a mythical guard that never lets prisoners escape. The image of a caged beast helps you recall both the character and its meaning.

Start with the radical 犭: write the left side stroke first (丿), then the hook (亅), and finally the two short strokes (丿丿). The right side 畢 has a flat top (田-like but with a horizontal stroke above) and a vertical stroke down the center; make sure the bottom is balanced with 十-like components. A common mistake is to make the right side too wide — keep it narrow to match the left.

狉 (pī) means "badger" and has the phonetic 丕 (pī) on the right, so it looks different. 狊 (jú) means "noise of a dog" and has the phonetic 昊 (hào?) Actually 狊 has 犬 on top and 目 below — its visual structure is completely different from 狴. The key difference is that 狴 always has the 畢 component, while 狉 and 狊 use other right-side parts.

狴 is rarely used alone; it appears mainly in the term 狴犴 (bì àn), referring to a mythical dragon son that guards prisons. You may see 狴 in historical texts about ancient prisons or in the word 狴牢 (bì láo) meaning "prison" in archaic Chinese. Today, it is mostly encountered in Chinese mythology and cultural discussions about the nine sons of the dragon.

Common words containing 狴 include: 狴犴 (bì àn) — Bi'an (a mythical dragon son); 狴牢 (bì láo) — prison (archaic); 狴犴像 (bì àn xiàng) — statue of Bi'an.