How to Write 厥 (jué) — Meaning “his; her; its; their”

Picture a person (欠) standing under a cliff (厂) holding a tiny plant (屮). That person points to the plant and says, "This is his plant." The image of the cliff, sprout, and yawning person helps link the character to the pronoun "his" in a memorable scene.

Write the top radical 厂 first — a short horizontal stroke then a left-falling stroke. Next write 屮 in the middle: a vertical stroke, then a horizontal, then another vertical, keeping it centered. Finally write 欠 on the bottom: start with a left-falling stroke, then a horizontal hook, then a left-falling, and a right-falling; make sure the bottom part does not extend too far left.

厥 has 屮 (two verticals with a horizontal) and 欠 (a person yawning) below the cliff. 厝 has 昔 (meaning "past") below the cliff, while 原 has 泉 (water spring) below. In usage, 厥 is an archaic pronoun, 厝 means "to place" or "coffin" (very rare), and 原 is common for "origin" or "plain".

厥 is not used in everyday speech; it appears in classical or literary expressions. Common phrases are 昏厥 (to faint), 大放厥词 (to spout nonsense), and 厥后 (thereafter). You may encounter it in historical texts or formal writing, but it is not part of the HSK vocabulary.

Common words containing 厥 include: 昏厥 (hūn jué) — To faint / To lose consciousness; 大放厥词 (dà fàng jué cí) — To spout off or talk nonsense; 厥后 (jué hòu) — thereafter; afterwards.