How to Write 彻 (chè) — Meaning “thorough; penetrating”

Imagine a person walking (彳) and using a knife to cut (切) through everything in their path — that is thoroughness. Another trick: think of the phrase "cut through" and remember that 切 (cut) is the main part.

Write the left radical 彳 with three strokes: left-falling, left-falling, vertical — keep it narrow. Then the right part 切 uses four strokes: horizontal, vertical, left-falling, right-falling (like a hook); do not mix up the order or make the left side too wide.

Visually, 彻 has 切 (cut) on the right, while 彷 has 方 (square/direction) and 彸 has 公 (public). Meaning-wise, 彻 is common in words like 彻底 (thorough), whereas 彷 only appears in literary terms like 彷徨 (wander/hesitate), and 彸 is very rare.

You often see 彻 in words like 彻底 (thoroughly), 彻夜 (all night), and 响彻 (to resound through). It emphasizes completeness or penetration, such as in the idiom 彻头彻尾 (out-and-out, literally "from head to tail").

Common words containing 彻 include: 彻底 (chè dǐ) — thorough; complete; 彻夜 (chè yè) — all night; throughout the night; 响彻 (xiǎng chè) — to resound through; to echo.