How to Write 翎 (líng) — Meaning “plume or tail feather”

Imagine a command (令) given to a beautiful feather (羽) — the feather is so special it receives orders. Or think of "ling" as a bell sound, and picture a feather dangling from a bell, making a light ringing noise.

Write the left part 令 first (stroke order: 人, point, horizontal, left-falling, dot), then the right part 羽 (horizontal fold, dot, lift, point, horizontal fold, hook, point). Keep the left part narrow and the right part wider. A common mistake is confusing 令 with 今 — remember 令 has a dot above and a horizontal stroke inside, while 今 has no dot.

All three have the 羽 radical, but 羿 (yì) means "legendary archer" and has a different lower part (廾, two hands). 翁 (wēng) means "old man" and has 公 (public) above the 羽. Visually, 翎 is left-right, while 羿 and 翁 are top-bottom structures. Their meanings are completely unrelated.

翎 is mostly used in formal or classical contexts, like in the word 花翎 (huā líng) for "peacock feather," which was an official rank symbol in the Qing dynasty. You also see it in 翎毛 (líng máo) for "feathers" of birds. It is not common in everyday speech but appears in literature, history, or bird-related terms.

Common words containing 翎 include: 翎毛 (líng máo) — feathers or plumes; 羽翎 (yǔ líng) — plume or tail feather; 花翎 (huā líng) — Peacock feather (official headwear).