How to Write 萃 (cuì) — Meaning “gather; assemble; elite”

Imagine a group of elite soldiers (卒) standing together in a field of grass (艹). This picture of "gathered elites" helps you remember that 萃 means both "gather" and "elite". The grass reminds you of a natural gathering place.

The top grass radical (艹) should be wide enough to cover the bottom part 卒. In the bottom part, do not forget the small dot at the top-left of 卒, and write the final two strokes as a left-falling stroke then a dot. A common mistake is making the grass too narrow or mixing up the strokes inside 卒.

萃 has grass radical (艹) plus 卒 (soldier), while 兹 has a different top (丷) and bottom (丝) and means "this" or "now". 苧 also has grass radical but uses 宁 below and refers to a plant called ramie. Visually, 萃 has more strokes and a noticeably different lower part.

萃 appears in literary or formal phrases like 出类拔萃 (outstanding, literally "standing out from the crowd") and 荟萃 (to gather excellent people or things). It often carries a positive, elevated tone, so you might see it in event names or descriptions of elite gatherings.

Common words containing 萃 include: 荟萃 (huì cuì) — To gather together (of distinguished people or things); 出类拔萃 (chū lèi bá cuì) — outstanding; 精萃 (jīng cuì) — Essence; extract..