How to Write 决 (jué) — Meaning “to decide; to determine”

Imagine you are standing on a frozen river (冫) and you must make a quick decision (决) about which way to run before the ice breaks. The two strokes on the right (夬) look like a person splitting a path.

The left radical 冫 should be written as two dots, starting with a short dot then a longer dot below. The right part 夬 begins with a horizontal stroke, then a left-falling stroke, and ends with two strokes: a vertical hook and a final dot. A common mistake is making the two dots too far apart or forgetting the final dot on the right.

决 has the radical 冫 (ice) and means 'to decide', while 冰 (bīng) also uses 冫 but means 'ice' and has a larger water component (水) on the right. 冯 (féng/píng) also uses 冫 but has a horse 马 on the right, meaning 'to gallop' or a surname. The key difference is the right-side component changes the meaning completely.

决 is very common in everyday Chinese, appearing in words like 决定 (decide), 解决 (solve), and 决心 (determination). It is used in both formal and casual contexts, from making a personal decision to solving a problem in business. There is no special cultural note, but it often implies a firm or final action.

Common words containing 决 include: 决定 (jué dìng) — to decide; decision; 解决 (jiě jué) — to solve; to settle; 决心 (jué xīn) — determination; to be determined.