How to Write 诀 (jué) — Meaning “Secret / Knack / Formula”

Imagine a secret recipe (秘诀) that you must say out loud — the left 讠 looks like a speech bubble. The right part 夬 can be thought of as a "key" (like in 抉择, to pick out), so you "speak the key" to unlock a secret.

The left radical 讠 is written with a horizontal stroke, a vertical hook, then a short horizontal. The right part 夬 has a horizontal, then two diagonal strokes (left-falling and right-falling), ending with a dot. A common mistake is making the right part too wide or forgetting the final dot.

All three use the speech radical 讠, but the right parts differ. 诀 has 夬 (a complex shape with a dot), 计 has 十 (ten), and 订 has 丁 (a nail). In meaning, 诀 is a secret or formula, 计 is about counting or planning, and 订 is about ordering or fixing a deal.

诀 appears in words like 秘诀 (secret to success), 口诀 (mnemonic rhyme), and 诀窍 (knack or trick). It is often used in traditional arts, martial arts, and folk wisdom where a concise verbal formula is passed from master to student. In everyday speech, you might ask "有什么诀窍?" meaning "Any tips?"

Common words containing 诀 include: 秘诀 (mì jué) — secret (of success); knack; 口诀 (kǒu jué) — mnemonic formula; 诀窍 (jué qiào) — Secret / Knack / Trick of the trade.