How to Write 悝 (kuī) — Meaning “sorrowful”

Imagine a heart (忄) trapped inside a village (里), feeling lonely and sorrowful because it cannot leave. This mental picture ties the character's components directly to its meaning of sorrow.

The left radical 忄 should be narrow, written as two dots then a vertical stroke. The right part 里 has seven strokes: first a vertical, then a horizontal line across the top, then the lower 土 shape. A common mistake is making the left side too wide or misplacing the dots.

All three share the heart radical 忄, but the right side differs: 里 in 悝, 召 in 怊, and 乍 in 怍. Visually, 悝's right side is more complex. In meaning, 悝 and 怊 both mean sorrowful, but 怍 means ashamed. 悝 is rarer and often appears only in the historical name 李悝.

悝 is extremely rare in everyday speech and writing. Its main modern use is in the historical name 李悝 (Li Kui), a famous legalist reformer from ancient China. As a standalone word meaning 'sorrowful,' it appears only in classical or literary contexts.

Common words containing 悝 include: 李悝 (lǐ kuī) — Li Kui (historical figure); 悝 (kuī) — sorrowful.