How to Write 憋 (biē) — Meaning “to hold back; to suppress; to feel suffocated”

Imagine your heart (心) is trapped under a torn, shabby cloth (敝), making you unable to breathe freely. This picture of being covered and suffocated helps you remember that 憋 means 'to hold back' or 'feel suffocated'.

The top part 敝 has 11 strokes, and the bottom 心 has 4 strokes — make sure the top is wider than the bottom. A common mistake is to write the bottom 心 too large or to forget the final dot on the heart radical; the dot should be placed carefully at the bottom right.

㥯 is a very rare, ancient character that means 'to accumulate' or 'to feel pain', but it is almost never used today. 想 means 'to think' or 'to miss', and uses the component 相 (mutual) with 心. In contrast, 憋 focuses on the act of suppressing emotions or breath, not on thinking or accumulation.

憋 appears in everyday expressions like 憋气 (to hold one's breath or feel annoyed) and 憋不住 (cannot hold back any longer). It is often used when someone feels emotionally or physically constrained, such as holding in laughter, anger, or a secret — a common theme in Chinese culture about controlling emotions.

Common words containing 憋 include: 憋气 (biē qì) — to hold one's breath; to feel suffocated; to be annoyed; 憋不住 (biē bú zhù) — cannot hold back; cannot restrain oneself; 憋屈 (biē qū) — to feel wronged and repressed; to feel stifled.