How to Write 雔 (chóu) — Meaning “A pair of birds; couple”

Think of two little birds sitting together on a branch — the left 隹 and the right 隹 are like a happy couple. You can also imagine the shape as two 'friends' (each 隹 has a similar outline) standing side by side.

Write the left 隹 first, then the right 隹. Each 隹 has 8 strokes — pay attention to the short horizontal line (first stroke of 隹) and keep the two halves balanced so the character doesn't look lopsided. A common mistake is making the right 隹 too large or misaligning the vertical strokes.

雔 (chóu) means a pair of birds or a couple, while 雌 (cí) means 'female' (as in female bird) and has the component 此 on the left. 雐 (hū) is a very rare archaic character with a different pronunciation and meaning — it is not used in modern Chinese. Visually, 雔 is two birds side by side, 雌 has a left-right structure with 此 and 隹, and 雐 looks different (left side is 虍).

雔 is not part of the HSK vocabulary and is rarely used in everyday modern Chinese. You may encounter it in classical poetry or literary texts where it refers to a pair of birds or a spouse (e.g., 雔偶 for spouse). It carries an elegant, literary tone and is not used in casual conversation.

Common words containing 雔 include: 雔雔 (chóu chóu) — A pair of birds; 雔偶 (chóu ǒu) — Spouse; partner; 雔鸟 (chóu niǎo) — A pair of birds.