How to Write 嫪 (lào) — Meaning “a surname”

Think of 'lào' as similar to '老' (old), and imagine an old woman (女) with a long, complicated hairstyle like the right part 翏. This visual connects the sound and the shape.

The right side 翏 is tricky: it has a top part that looks like 羽 (feather) but with an extra horizontal stroke, and a bottom part with three short strokes like 彡. A common mistake is writing the top as the regular 羽 or mixing up the bottom strokes.

嫪 is a rare surname, while 婷 (tíng) means 'graceful' and 婺 (wù) is an ancient star name. Visually, 嫪 has the right part 翏, 婷 has 亭 (pavilion), and 婺 has 矛 (spear) above 女.

嫪 is an extremely rare surname today, mostly known from the historical figure 嫪毐 (Lao Ai) from the Qin dynasty. You will only encounter it in historical texts or discussions about ancient China.

Common words containing 嫪 include: 嫪毐 (lào ǎi) — Lao Ai (a historical figure); 姓嫪 (xìng lào) — Surname Lao; 嫪氏 (lào shì) — the Lao clan.