How to Write 榴 (liú) — Meaning “Pomegranate or durian”

Imagine a tree (木) that is so special you want to "stay" (留) near it because it bears delicious pomegranates or durians. The right part 留 sounds like "liú" and also means "to stay," so picture yourself staying under the tree to enjoy the fruit.

The left radical 木 must be written with a narrower shape, and its last stroke changes from a right-falling stroke (捺) to a dot (点) to make room. The right part 留 has a total of 10 strokes; be careful to write the top as a smooth, balanced 卯-like component and the bottom as 田, keeping the whole character square and centered.

榴 uses the 木 radical and 留 phonetic, meaning pomegranate or durian. 棉 (mián) also has the 木 radical but has a different right side 帛, meaning cotton. 棋 (qí) uses the 木 radical with 其 on the right, meaning chess or a game. The right-side components look distinct, and their meanings are unrelated to fruit.

榴 most commonly appears in 石榴 (shí liú), meaning pomegranate, a fruit often eaten fresh or made into juice (石榴汁). The word 石榴裙 (shí liú qún) refers to a traditional red skirt and is used in idioms like "拜倒在石榴裙下" (to kneel under a pomegranate skirt), meaning to be infatuated by a woman.

Common words containing 榴 include: 石榴 (shí liú) — pomegranate; 石榴汁 (shí liú zhī) — pomegranate juice; 石榴裙 (shí liú qún) — pomegranate skirt (traditional red skirt).