How to Write 瘌 (là) — Meaning “favus; scalp disease”

Imagine a person with a scabby head scratching and saying "La! La! La!" The left side 疒 looks like a sickbed, and the right side 剌 resembles a sharp comb scratching the scalp, reminding you of this scalp disease.

Pay special attention to the right side 剌: inside it is 束 (bundle) with a vertical stroke that crosses two horizontal lines, then the knife radical 刂. A common mistake is writing 束 too small or making the vertical stroke not go through. The left radical 疒 should have two dots inside its enclosure.

The right side of 瘌 is 剌 (complex), while 痘 uses 豆 (bean) and 痛 uses 甬 (yong). Meaning-wise, 瘌 specifically refers to a scalp infection (favus), not to pockmarks (痘) or general pain (痛). So 瘌 is limited to this one skin condition.

瘌 appears mainly in the word 瘌蛤蟆 (toad) and the famous idiom "瘌蛤蟆想吃天鹅肉" (a toad wanting to eat swan's meat), meaning someone has unrealistic ambitions. The original disease meaning (favus) is rarely used today except in medical or historical texts.

Common words containing 瘌 include: 瘌痢 (là lì) — favus of the scalp; scabby head; 瘌痢头 (là lì tóu) — scabby head; person with favus on the head; 瘌蛤蟆 (là há ma) — toad.