How to Write 傺 (chì) — Meaning “to stop; to wait; disappointed”

Imagine someone waiting for a ceremony (祭) to start, standing still and feeling disappointed because it is delayed. The left side 亻 reminds you it is about a person, so you can think "a person (亻) at a sacrifice (祭) feels chi (sounds like 'chill' with disappointment)."

Start with the radical 亻: first a left-falling stroke (撇), then a vertical stroke (竖). For the right side 祭, write the top as 月 (but note it is slightly different—two dots above), then 又 (cross stroke and right-falling), and finally 示 (two horizontal strokes and a small vertical). A common mistake is making the top of 祭 look like 登, so ensure the upper part has two dots, not a full '夂'.

Visually, 傺 has the right side 祭 (sacrifice), while 偃 (yǎn) has 匽 (crouching) and can mean 'to fall over,' and 假 (jiǎ) has 叚 (borrow) and means 'false.' In usage, 傺 is rare and appears only in literary words like 侘傺 (dejected), whereas 偃 and 假 are common in modern Chinese.

傺 is not used in everyday conversation; it appears almost exclusively in the two-character literary word 侘傺 (chà chì), which describes a feeling of disappointment or dejection. This word originates from classical Chinese poetry, such as in the works of Qu Yuan, where it conveys the sorrow of a frustrated official. You will encounter it only in advanced literary texts or classical studies.

Common words containing 傺 include: 侘傺 (chà chì) — dejected; despondent; 傺立 (chì lì) — to stand still; to stop; 傺然 (chì rán) — standing still; looking disappointed.