How to Write 咎 (jiù) — Meaning “fault; blame”

Imagine someone saying "You are guilty" (咎 sounds like 'joe' in English) while pointing a finger (the top 口 as a mouth) and then stamping their foot (the bottom 夂 like a foot) to stop you. This visual of a mouth and a foot stopping someone helps you recall the meaning 'fault' or 'blame'.

Start with the top component 口 (3 strokes: vertical, horizontal fold, horizontal). Then write the bottom part 夂: first a left-falling stroke, then a horizontal hook, and finally a right-falling stroke. Make sure the upper 口 is centered and smaller than the lower 夂, and avoid making the lower part too wide.

咎 (jiù) means 'fault' or 'blame' and combines 口 with 夂 (stop), while 吁 (xū or yù) means 'to sigh' or 'to shout', and combines 口 with 于 (the phonetic component). Visually, 咎 has a longer lower part with three strokes, whereas 吁 has a simpler two-stroke lower part 于. Their meanings are completely unrelated.

咎 is used in formal or literary expressions like 归咎 (to blame) and 既往不咎 (let bygones be bygones). It also appears in the idiom 咎由自取, meaning 'to have only oneself to blame'. You will not encounter it in everyday conversation, but it is common in written Chinese and legal or moral discussions.

Common words containing 咎 include: 归咎 (guī jiù) — To put the blame on; to attribute fault; 既往不咎 (jì wǎng bù jiù) — Let bygones be bygones; 咎由自取 (jiù yóu zì qǔ) — to have only oneself to blame.