How to Write 敛 (liǎn) — Meaning “to restrain / to collect / to draw back”

Picture a hand (攵) pulling a bundle of money (the left part 佥 looks a bit like a bag of coins) inward to collect it. This image reminds you of the meanings 'to amass wealth' and 'to draw back'.

Write 敛 in 11 strokes: start with the left component 佥 (7 strokes: top 人, then 一, 丶, 丶, 丨, 乛, 一), then add the right radical 攵 (4 strokes: 丿, 一, 丿, ㇏). A common mistake is to forget the small dot (丶) inside 佥 or to make the right side too wide. Keep both sides balanced and compact.

The key visual difference is the left part: 敛 has 佥, 政 has 正 (zhèng), and 敃 has 民 (mín). Their meanings are also distinct: 敛 relates to collecting or restraining, 政 relates to politics or government, and 敃 is an old, rare character for 'quick' or 'variant of 敏.' Always check the left component to identify which character you see.

敛 appears in formal or written contexts, especially in words like 收敛 (to restrain oneself) and 敛财 (to amass wealth, often with a negative connotation of greed). In Chinese culture, 收敛 is often used as a virtue, advising people to control their desires, while 敛财 may be criticized as excessive pursuit of money.

Common words containing 敛 include: 收敛 (shōu liǎn) — to restrain oneself; to converge; 敛财 (liǎn cái) — to amass wealth (often unscrupulously); 聚敛 (jù liǎn) — to accumulate; to amass wealth.