How to Write 嫘 (léi) — Meaning “Used in the name Leizu (the legendary discoverer of silk).”

Picture a woman (女) carefully piling up silk threads (the 糸 inside 累) — this represents Leizu, who discovered how to make silk from silkworms. Imagine her name "Léi" sounds like "lay" as in laying threads of silk. The combination of woman and silk threads directly reminds you of the silk empress.

Write the left radical 女 first with three strokes, keeping it narrow. Then write the right side 累: start with 田 (five strokes) then add the bottom 糸 (six strokes) — be careful that the bottom is 糸, not 系 or 条. The character has 14 strokes total, and the right side is taller than the left.

嫘 (léi) is used almost exclusively in the name 嫘祖 (Leizu, the silk discoverer), while 婷 (tíng) means graceful and appears in words like 婷婷 (tíngtíng, slim and graceful). 婺 (wù) is a rare character used in place names or as a star name. Visually, the right side differs: 嫘 has 累, 婷 has 亭, and 婺 has 敄.

嫘 is not a common character in daily life; it appears only in the historical name 嫘祖 (Leizu) and related terms like 嫘祖庙 (Leizu Temple) and 嫘祖像 (Statue of Leizu). It is used in cultural and historical discussions about the origins of silk farming in ancient China. You will see it in museum exhibits, temples, and texts about Chinese mythology.

Common words containing 嫘 include: 嫘祖 (léi zǔ) — Leizu (legendary Chinese empress who discovered silk).; 嫘祖庙 (léi zǔ miào) — Leizu Temple.; 嫘祖像 (léi zǔ xiàng) — Statue of Leizu..