How to Write 鬄 (dí) — Meaning “to shave (hair)”

Picture a barber (髟, like a fluffy head of hair) using a sharp razor (the two strokes in 易 can look like a blade) to shave it all off. The 易 also sounds like "easy" — shaving hair makes it easy to become bald.

The top part 髟 has three long horizontal strokes that should be evenly spaced, and the bottom part 易 must not be too small. Common mistakes include making the 勿 inside 易 too narrow or forgetting the final downward stroke in 易.

鬄 means "to shave" and focuses on removing hair, while 髭 (zī) specifically means a mustache or the upper lip hair. 髹 (xiū) means "to lacquer" or "to paint" and is not about hair at all — it uses 髟 with 木 (wood) below, not 易.

鬄 is quite rare and literary today; it appears mostly in formal or classical contexts like "鬄发" (to shave hair) or in Buddhist texts referring to monks shaving their heads. In everyday life, Chinese speakers use simpler words like 剃 (tì) for shaving, so you will see 鬄 mainly in historical or specialized writing.

Common words containing 鬄 include: 鬄发 (dí fā) — to shave hair; to get a haircut; 鬄除 (dí chú) — to shave off; to remove; 鬄头 (dí tóu) — to shave the head.