How to Write 晦 (huì) — Meaning “Dark or obscure”

Imagine that every (每) sun (日) is hidden behind clouds, making the world dark and gloomy. This visual of 'every sun being obscured' helps link the components to the meaning 'dark'.

Pay special attention to the bottom part 每: it has 7 strokes, including a vertical-turning stroke (竖折) and a hook (横折钩). Common mistakes are writing the 每 too wide or forgetting the dot inside the lower enclosure. Keep 日 narrow and balanced above.

昜 (yáng) has 日 on top and 勿 below, meaning 'bright' or 'sunlight'—opposite to 晦's darkness. 昝 (zǎn) has 日 on top and 㐭 below, and is used mainly as a surname. Visually, 晦 uses 每 below, while the others use different components, so check the lower part carefully.

晦 appears in words like 晦暗 (dark and gloomy), 阴晦 (overcast), and 晦涩 (obscure, hard to understand). Culturally, 晦 also refers to the last day of the lunar month (晦日), a time traditionally linked to darkness and warding off evil spirits before the new moon.

Common words containing 晦 include: 晦暗 (huì àn) — Dark and gloomy; 阴晦 (yīn huì) — gloomy; dark; 晦涩 (huì sè) — Obscure and hard to understand.