How to Write 鹨 (liù) — Meaning “pipit”

Imagine a tiny pipit bird (鸟) perching on a tall pile of feathers (翏) that looks like a small hill. The top part 翏 has strokes that suggest feathers piling up, and the bird radical underneath confirms it is a bird. This visual helps link shape and meaning.

The top part 翏 has a horizontal stroke that extends slightly leftward, and the bottom radical 鸟 should be centered under it. A common mistake is making the bird radical too wide or misplacing the top's final stroke — keep the bird's left stroke aligned with the upper component's left side.

鹨 means 'pipit' and is a small bird, while 鹕 refers to a pelican (a large water bird) and 鹗 means 'osprey' (a bird of prey). Visually, 鹨 has 翏 on top, 鹕 has 胡 (hu) on top, and 鹗 has 咢 (è) on top — each uses a different phonetic component.

鹨 is a specialized character found mainly in ornithological names like 田鹨 (field pipit) and 林鹨 (tree pipit). It is not common in daily conversation or HSK vocabulary, so you will mostly encounter it in bird guides or nature texts.

Common words containing 鹨 include: 田鹨 (tián liù) — pipit (bird); 林鹨 (lín liù) — tree pipit (bird); 水鹨 (shuǐ liù) — Water pipit.