How to Write 玖 (jiǔ) — Meaning “nine (formal version)”

Imagine a king (王) holding a staff for a very long time (久), and he stamps the number nine on official papers. The ‘久’ gives you the sound ‘jiǔ’, and the ‘王’ reminds you it is the formal, royal version of nine.

The left radical 王 i's final stroke must become a lift (tí) rising to the right, not a horizontal line. The right part 久 has a short left-falling stroke (piě) followed by a longer right-falling stroke (nà) that extends below the left part. Keep the two sides balanced — the 王 is narrow and the 久 is wider.

Unlike 玎 (dīng, sound of jade) or 玑 (jī, star name or pearl), 玖 specifically means the formal number nine. Visually, 玖 uses the right component 久 (nine's pronunciation), while 玎 uses 丁 (nail) and 玑 uses 几 (table). 玖 is only used for the numeral nine in formal contexts.

玖 is the capital or formal form of the number nine, used on banknotes, checks, contracts, and legal documents to prevent forgery. For example, ¥9.00 might be written as 玖圆 in official amounts. You only see 玖 in formal writing, not in everyday texts.

Common words containing 玖 include: 玖拾 (jiǔ shí) — ninety (formal version); 玖月 (jiǔ yuè) — September; 玖大 (jiǔ dà) — the capital form of nine.