How to Write 羸 (léi) — Meaning “weak; thin; exhausted”

Imagine a sheep (羊) that is so weak it can barely stand, lying under a heavy box (the lower part looks like a box structure). This image of a sheep collapsing from exhaustion helps you recall léi means weak and tired.

The top part 羊 must be written with three horizontal strokes and a vertical line, not four strokes like the full character 羊. The lower part has 13 strokes, so keep the left and right sides balanced—common mistakes include making the lower section too narrow or forgetting the dot inside.

羴 (shān) means a strong smell of sheep and is rarely used, while 羹 (gēng) means thick soup. Visually, 羴 has three 羊 stacked, 羹 adds 羔 and 美 components, whereas 羸 has a unique lower part. Their meanings are completely unrelated despite sharing the 羊 radical.

羸 appears mainly in formal or classical Chinese, like in medical terms such as 羸弱 (frail) or literary descriptions of exhaustion. It is not common in daily speech but can be found in historical texts or traditional Chinese medicine to describe a person's depleted physical state.

Common words containing 羸 include: 羸弱 (léi ruò) — frail; weak; 羸瘦 (léi shòu) — emaciated; thin and weak; 羸顿 (léi dùn) — exhausted and weak.