How to Write 竭 (jié) — Meaning “To exhaust; to use up”

Imagine a person standing (立) under a hot sun, asking 'why (曷) am I so exhausted?' This ties the left radical to 'standing' and the right part to the question, helping you recall the meaning of being used up or depleted.

The left radical 立 is narrow and takes about one-third of the width; its final horizontal stroke should be short. The right part 曷 has 9 strokes: write the top '日' (sun) first, then the bottom '匕' (dagger) — be careful not to mix the order. A common mistake is making the left 立 too wide, which ruins the balance.

竣 (jùn) means 'to finish' or 'complete' and has a different right component (夋), while 童 (tóng) means 'child' and uses 里 underneath 立. In contrast, 竭 always conveys exhaustion or depletion, and its right side is 曷, not 夋 or 里. Visually, 竭 has a more complex and wider right side than the other two.

竭 appears in formal or literary contexts, such as 竭力 (do one's best) and 枯竭 (depleted resources). It is often used in idioms or serious discussions about effort or scarcity, like 竭尽全力 (spare no effort). Culturally, 竭 carries a sense of utmost sincerity or finality, making it more dramatic than common synonyms like 用尽.

Common words containing 竭 include: 竭力 (jié lì) — To do one's best; to try one's hardest; 枯竭 (kū jié) — dried up; exhausted; depleted; 竭诚 (jié chéng) — Wholehearted; sincere.