How to Write 飬 (juàn) — Meaning “to raise; to rear”

Picture a person using both hands to offer a bowl of food (食) to an animal that is curled up (龹). The curled shape reminds you that the animal is being kept or raised in a pen. This image links the food supply to the act of rearing.

The left radical 食 is written first with 9 strokes, starting with a left-falling stroke and finishing with a vertical hook. The right part 龹 is written with 4 strokes: a left-falling stroke, a horizontal stroke, a right-falling stroke, and a final left-falling stroke. A common mistake is to confuse the right part with 夕 (evening) or to add an extra stroke to 龹.

飬 (juàn) means "to raise" and has the component 龹 on the right, which looks like a curved shape. 飧 (sūn) means "evening meal" and has 夕 (sunset) on the right. Visually, 龹 has a top stroke that curves downward, while 夕 is a simple three-stroke character with a dot on the side. Their meanings and usage are completely different.

飬 is a rare character not included in the HSK vocabulary list. It appears mostly in formal or classical texts, or in specific terms like 飬养 (to raise animals), 飬鱼 (fish farming), and 飬马 (horse breeding). In modern daily life, the more common character 养 (yǎng) is used instead, but 飬 retains a traditional, specialized feel in written Chinese.

Common words containing 飬 include: 飬养 (juàn yǎng) — to raise; to rear; 飬鱼 (juàn yú) — to raise fish; 飬马 (juàn mǎ) — to raise horses.