How to Write 瘠 (jí) — Meaning “lean; barren; thin”

Picture a sick person (疒) whose spine (脊) is visibly poking out because they are extremely thin. This image of a backbone protruding from a diseased body directly reminds you that 瘠 means lean, barren, or thin.

First write the radical 疒 with two dots, then a horizontal stroke, and a left-slanting stroke. The right part 脊 starts with a dot at the top, followed by a left-falling stroke, then 人 (person), and finally 月 (meat) — be careful not to confuse the bottom with 冂. The total is 15 strokes, and the right side is wider than the left.

All three share the illness radical 疒, but their right parts differ: 瘠 uses 脊 (spine), 痰 uses 炎 (double fire), and 痱 uses 非 (wrong). In meaning, 瘠 refers to thinness or barrenness (e.g., poor soil), 痰 means phlegm, and 痱 means prickly heat rash. Visually, 瘠 has a more complex right side with a "person" and "moon" shape, while the others are simpler.

You will find 瘠 mainly in formal or written Chinese, especially in words like 贫瘠 (barren soil) and 瘦瘠 (lean and thin). It is not a common daily word but appears in descriptions of land infertility or an emaciated body, often contrasting with 肥沃 (fertile) in farming or literary contexts.

Common words containing 瘠 include: 贫瘠 (pín jí) — Barren / Infertile (of soil); 瘦瘠 (shòu jí) — lean and barren; 瘠薄 (jí bó) — barren (soil); poor (land).