How to Write 癀 (huáng) — Meaning “jaundice or anthrax in animals”

Imagine a sick person (疒) whose skin has turned bright yellow like a banana (黄). This visual of a yellow illness instantly reminds you that 癀 means jaundice or anthrax in animals. You can also think of the phrase 'yellow disease' to link the two parts.

Write the radical 疒 first (dot, horizontal, left-falling, then two dots), followed by the component 黄 (horizontal, vertical, horizontal, vertical, horizontal, left-falling, dot, vertical, horizontal, dot). A common mistake is writing 黄 with too many strokes; remember it has 9 strokes inside. Keep the two parts balanced—the 疒 should cover the top and left side of 黄.

瘊 (hóu) means a wart, a small skin growth, while 瘌 (là) refers to scabies or a rough, itchy rash. Unlike 癀, which has 黄 inside, 瘊 contains 侯 and 瘌 contains 剌. Visually, the right-hand parts are different: 癀 uses the yellow radical, 瘊 uses a component meaning 'marquis', and 瘌 uses a component meaning 'thorn'.

癀 is a rare character used mainly in traditional Chinese medicine or veterinary contexts for animal jaundice or anthrax (癀病). It also appears in the folk remedy 抓癀, which is a method to treat heatstroke by pinching the skin. You will not find 癀 in everyday conversation, but it may appear in old medical texts or rural dialects.

Common words containing 癀 include: 癀病 (huáng bìng) — jaundice or anthrax; 抓癀 (zhuā huáng) — Treat heatstroke (folk remedy); 癀药 (huáng yào) — medicine for jaundice or anthrax.