How to Write 樆 (lí) — Meaning “Wild pear”

Think of a wild pear tree (木) that is 'leaving' (离) the farm to grow in the wild. Imagine the left side as the trunk and branches, and the right side 离 as a bird flying away — the tree is 'leaving' civilization.

The right part 离 has a complex structure: start with the top 亠, then 冂, then 凶, and finally 禸. The most common mistake is misplacing the small 口 in 凶 or forgetting to write the bottom 禸 (meat radical) correctly — make sure the final strokes cross the vertical line properly.

樆 (wild pear) uses the left radical 木 (tree), while 棉 (cotton) also uses 木 but the right side is 帛 (silk cloth), not 离. 棋 (chess) uses 木 on the left and 其 (his/its) on the right, not 离. Visually, 樆's right side is taller and has more strokes than 棋's right side.

樆 is very rare in everyday Chinese because it refers to a specific wild pear tree, not common fruit like 梨 (pear). You might encounter it in botanical texts, classical poetry, or traditional herbal medicine references. The word 樆枣 (lí zǎo) appears in some regional names for wild jujube.

Common words containing 樆 include: 樆木 (lí mù) — Wild pear wood; 樆子 (lí zi) — Wild pear fruit; 樆枣 (lí zǎo) — Wild jujube.