How to Write 桀 (jié) — Meaning “cruel; name of a tyrant”

Imagine a cruel tyrant standing on a tree (木) with his two feet (舛) pointing in opposite directions, showing his stubborn and unruly nature. This picture helps link the parts to the meaning of 'tyrant' and 'cruel'.

Write the top part 舛 with balanced left and right strokes; each side looks like a reversed '夕'. The bottom 木 should be slightly wider than the top to keep the character stable. A common mistake is making the top too wide or the bottom too narrow.

桀 has a unique top part 舛 (two feet), while 杪 has 少 on the right (meaning tip) and 杭 has 亢 on the right (meaning boat or Hangzhou). Visually, 桀 is top-heavy and different from both, which have the wood radical on the left.

桀 is rarely used alone in modern Chinese; it appears mostly in historical names like 夏桀 (the last ruler of the Xia dynasty) or in idioms like 桀骜不驯 (unruly and stubborn). Culturally, 夏桀 is a symbol of tyranny, representing a bad ruler in Chinese history.

Common words containing 桀 include: 夏桀 (xià jié) — Jie of Xia (the last ruler of the Xia dynasty); 桀骜 (jié ào) — unruly; stubborn; 桀黠 (jié xiá) — fierce and crafty.