How to Write 刭 (jǐng) — Meaning “To cut the throat.”

Imagine a 'jing' sound (like a bell) as you use a knife (刂) to cut a throat — the noise stops suddenly. Or picture the left part 巠 as a twisted neck, and the knife on the right doing the cutting. This visual links the sound and action.

Write the left component 巠 first with five strokes (horizontal, then the three stacked strokes, then vertical), then add the knife radical 刂 with two strokes (left vertical slash, then right hook). A common mistake is making the left part too tall; keep it balanced so the knife sits at the same height.

Both 刭 and 刎 share the knife radical and relate to cutting a throat, but 刭 specifically means 'cut the throat to kill,' while 刎 is more general 'cut the neck.' 刊 uses the same knife radical but means 'carve' or 'publish,' completely different meaning. Visually, 刊 has a stem (干) on the left, while 刭 has 巠.

刭 is very rare in modern Chinese and appears mainly in historical or literary texts describing suicide, like the word 自刭 (self-throat-cutting). It is not used in daily conversation. Culturally, it evokes ancient Chinese honor codes where warriors might commit suicide by cutting their own throat rather than face capture.

Common words containing 刭 include: 自刭 (zì jǐng) — to commit suicide by cutting one's throat; 刎刭 (wěn jǐng) — to cut one's throat; 刭杀 (jǐng shā) — To kill by cutting the throat..