How to Write 翅 (chì) — Meaning “wing”

Imagine a bird's wing (羽) holding up a small branch (支) to fly. The visual of feathers supporting a twig helps connect the two parts. Remember that the left side looks like two feathers and the right side is like a 'branch' with a small cross stroke.

The left side 羽 is written with two '习' parts, each with a dot inside, not a full cross. The right side 支 is written with a horizontal stroke on top, then a smaller '十' shape, and a final longer horizontal stroke at the bottom. A common mistake is making the left side too wide or confusing the right side with the character '又'.

翅 (wing) contains the radical 羽 and means a wing, used in words like 翅膀. 羿 (yì) is a historical name (archer Hou Yi) and has the same radical but a different right component (廾). 翁 (wēng) means old man and uses the 羽 component on top, not on the side—its lower part is 公, giving a completely different meaning.

翅 appears commonly in food terms like 鸡翅 (chicken wings) and 鱼翅 (shark fin, a luxury soup ingredient). It also appears in 翅膀 to refer to bird or insect wings. In Chinese culture, shark fin soup is a traditional but controversial delicacy due to environmental concerns, so the word 鱼翅 carries both culinary and ethical weight.

Common words containing 翅 include: 翅膀 (chì bǎng) — wing; 鸡翅 (jī chì) — Chicken wings; 鱼翅 (yú chì) — Shark fin.