How to Write 劾 (hé) — Meaning “Impeach; accuse”

Imagine a judge wearing a hat (the top part of 亥) who uses his strong arm (力 on the right) to point and shout "Hey!" (sounds like hé) at a person he is accusing. This visual of a powerful accusation helps link the sound and meaning.

Write the left part 亥 first: dot, horizontal, left-falling stroke, horizontal hook, another left-falling, then a dot (6 strokes). Then add 力 with a horizontal hook and a left-falling stroke (2 strokes). A common mistake is making 亥 too wide; keep it narrow so the whole character stays balanced.

劾 (hé) means "impeach" and has 亥 on the left plus 力 on the right. 劣 (liè) means "inferior" and has 少 (few) on top with 力 below, suggesting lack of strength. 劦 (xié) means "cooperate" and is made of three 力, showing collective strength. Visually, 劣 has a different top component, while 劦 has no 亥 at all.

劾 appears mainly in formal legal or political language, most commonly in the word 弹劾 (tán hé) meaning "to impeach" a government official. It is rarely used in daily conversation. Culturally, impeachment is a serious constitutional process, and this character carries a strong sense of official accusation and investigation.

Common words containing 劾 include: 弹劾 (tán hé) — To impeach; 劾查 (hé chá) — Investigate and impeach; 纠劾 (jiū hé) — to impeach; to investigate and report.