How to Write 骷 (kū) — Meaning “skeleton”

Imagine an old (古) skeleton (骨) in a museum — the "old bones" help you recall the sound kū and the meaning. The left side 骨 looks like a row of bones, and the right side 古 means "ancient," so you can think of an ancient skeleton. This visual links the character directly to its meaning and pronunciation.

Pay attention to the left radical 骨: it has 9 strokes and the top part is a small "bone" shape, not square. The right side 古 must be written narrower so the whole character stays balanced. A common mistake is making the 骨 too wide or the 古 too tall, which throws off the proportions.

骰 (tóu) means "dice" and contains the radical 骨 but with the phonetic 殳 — it is never used for skeletons. 骱 (jiè) means "joint" (as in bone joints) and has the phonetic 介. Unlike 骷, which specifically refers to a skeleton or skull, 骰 and 骱 have unrelated meanings and completely different pronunciations.

骷 appears almost exclusively in the word 骷髅 (kūlóu), meaning "skeleton" or "human skull." It is commonly seen in horror stories, Halloween decorations, and medical contexts. The term 骷髅地 (kūlóu dì) refers to "Golgotha" (the place of the skull) in Christian Bible translations.

Common words containing 骷 include: 骷髅 (kū lóu) — skeleton; 骷髅头 (kū lóu tóu) — skull; 骷髅地 (kū lóu dì) — place of the skull.