How to Write 妫 (guī) — Meaning “Gui (a surname or river name)”

To remember 妫, think of a woman (女) who is doing (为) something near a river. The right part 为 looks like a hand reaching out, so imagine a woman reaching into the Guishui River to collect water. This connects the character to its meaning as a river name.

妫 has 7 strokes: first write the left radical 女 (3 strokes), then the right part 为 (4 strokes). The right side 为 starts with a dot on top, followed by a left-falling stroke, and two horizontal strokes. A common mistake is to replace 为 with 力 (strength) — be sure to include the dot and the curved stroke.

妫 differs from 奴 (nú, slave) because 奴 has right side 又 (hand), while 妫 has 为. Meaning-wise, 奴 indicates a slave, whereas 妫 is a surname or river name. Compared to 奶 (nǎi, milk), 奶 has right side 乃, and 妫 has 为 — visually, 为 has a top dot and a hook, while 乃 is a different shape.

妫 is rarely used in daily life; it appears mainly as a surname (妫姓) or in historical place names like 妫水 (Guishui River) in Hebei province. It is not part of HSK or common vocabulary. Culturally, the Gui surname is very old, said to trace back to Emperor Shun, whose descendants lived near the Guishui River.

Common words containing 妫 include: 妫水 (guī shuǐ) — Guishui River; 妫姓 (guī xìng) — the Gui surname; 妫河 (guī hé) — Gui River.