How to Write 樛 (jiū) — Meaning “to bend downward; drooping”

Imagine a tree (木) with heavy fruit that causes its branches to droop — the right side 翏 looks like three overlapping curves (like hanging branches). You can think of the top part as a "drop" bending down, and the bottom as a "looping" shape, reminding you of the winding, drooping motion.

The left radical 木 has a vertical stroke that should be written straight and slightly longer than the right side; the horizontal stroke in 木 must not cross into the 翏 component. On the right, 翏 has seven strokes: pay attention to the order — first the top diagonal, then the two horizontal strokes, then the bottom 'person' shape (㐱) with a right hook — many learners forget the hook at the end.

樛 (jiū) means "drooping" and is always about branches or streams bending downward. 椴 (duàn) is a type of tree (linden/lime tree) and has a different right side (段). 椹 (shèn) means "mulberry fruit" and uses the phonetic 甚. Visually, 椴 has a right side with 段 (several strokes), while 椹 has 甚 (a different structure) — but 樛's right side 翏 is unique with its top diagonal and bottom 'person' shape.

樛 is very rare in modern everyday Chinese; it appears mostly in classical literature, poetry, or botanical descriptions of trees with drooping branches. You might encounter it in the compound 樛木 (drooping tree) from ancient texts like the Book of Songs, or in literary descriptions of winding streams (樛流). It is not a character for daily conversation but adds elegance in ancient-style writing.

Common words containing 樛 include: 樛木 (jiū mù) — drooping tree; tree with downward-curving branches; 樛枝 (jiū zhī) — drooping branches; 樛流 (jiū liú) — winding flow; meandering stream.