How to Write 疬 (lì) — Meaning “scrofula”

Imagine a calendar (历) marked with a sick day because you have swollen lymph nodes from scrofula. The sick radical 疒 reminds you it's a disease, and the calendar part helps you recall the sound "lì". This image links the visual parts to both the meaning and pronunciation.

The radical 疒 should be written first, starting with a left-falling dot, then a horizontal stroke, and finally the left-falling stroke and a small horizontal line. The right part 历 has a horizontal stroke outside a small square, and learners often make the top left part too wide—keep it narrow to balance the whole character.

疔 (dīng) refers to a small, deep furuncle or boil, while 疖 (jiē) is a superficial skin boil. In contrast, 疬 specifically means scrofula—a chronic infection of lymph nodes. Visually, 疔 has a 丁 (nail) component, 疖 has a 节 (knot) part, and 疬 uses 历 (calendar).

疬 is very rare in daily life and appears mostly in traditional Chinese medicine texts or historical references about scrofula. You might see it in compound words like 瘰疬 (luǒ lì), which describes swollen lymph nodes in the neck. It is not part of standard HSK vocabulary and is considered a specialized medical term.

Common words containing 疬 include: 瘰疬 (luǒ lì) — scrofula; 疬子 (lì zi) — scrofula; 疬疡 (lì yáng) — scrofulous sores.