How to Write 联 (lián) — Meaning “to join; to connect; to unite”

Picture a pair of ears (耳) that are "tied together" by a rope (关), showing they are connected. This image helps you remember that 联 means "to join" or "to connect" — the ears are literally linked.

Pay attention to the right side 关: the top is two dots (丷) followed by a horizontal line and then 天 (tian) without the top stroke — actually it's 关 with two dots above and a horizontal under them, then the last two strokes are downward strokes from the left and right. A common mistake is writing the right side as 天 (sky) — remember the two dots are separate, not connected to the horizontal line.

联 (lián) means to connect, 耸 (sǒng) means to tower or to alarm, and 耻 (chǐ) means shame. Visually, 联 has 耳 on the left and 关 on the right; 耸 has 耳 on top and 从 (two people) below; 耻 has 耳 on the left and 止 (stop) on the right. Their meanings are completely different, and the right-side components are unique clues.

联 appears in everyday words like 联系 (contact), 联合 (unite), and 联网 (connect to the internet). It is especially common in technology and business contexts, such as "online networking" (联网) or "joint venture" (联合企业). Culturally, 联 is also used in 春联 (Spring Festival couplets), which are poetic phrases written on red paper and hung during Chinese New Year to bring good luck.

Common words containing 联 include: 联系 (lián xì) — to contact; connection; 联合 (lián hé) — to unite; joint; combined; 联网 (lián wǎng) — networking; to connect to the internet.