How to Write 鹘 (gǔ) — Meaning “falcon; goshawk”

Imagine a falcon that is so strong it can carry a big bone (骨) in its beak while flying. The bird (鸟) with the bone is the falcon (鹘). This visual of a bird holding a bone helps link the parts to the meaning.

The left radical 鸟 should be written narrow and tall, while the right part 骨 is wider and occupies about two-thirds of the character. A common mistake is writing the top of 骨 (the shell shape) too small — make sure the horizontal stroke at the top is long enough to balance the character.

鹘 (gǔ, falcon) has 骨 (bone) on the right, while 鹁 (bó, pigeon) uses 孛 (bèi, comet-like shape) and 鹂 (lí, oriole) uses 丽 (lì, beautiful). Visually, 鹘 looks more angular and strong, 鹁 has a rounder top, and 鹂 has a more decorative right side. Their meanings are also different: falcon/hawk vs. pigeon vs. oriole.

鹘 is a literary or classical character, not common in daily conversation or HSK lists. It appears in names of birds (e.g., 鹘鸟) and in idioms like 鹘落 (gǔ luò, meaning a falcon swooping down, used to describe swift action). In Chinese culture, the falcon symbolizes speed and sharp vision.

Common words containing 鹘 include: 鹘鸟 (gǔ niǎo) — falcon bird; 隼鹘 (sǔn gǔ) — falcons and hawks (simplified form); 飞鹘 (fēi gǔ) — falcon.