How to Write 偻 (lóu/lǚ) — Meaning “Hunchbacked / Stooped”

Imagine a person (亻) who is so old and stooped that they carry a "lump" on their back like a "lo" (sounds like lóu) of a camel. Picture the right side 婁 as a bent figure with a curved spine, helping you connect the shape to a hunched back.

Pay attention to the right side 婁: it has a top part like 米 without the bottom, then a horizontal line and a woman radical 女 below. Common mistakes include making the woman radical too wide or forgetting the middle horizontal stroke, which changes the character's balance and readability.

侮 (wǔ) means "to insult" and has a different right side (每), while 侯 (hóu) means "marquis" and uses a distinct right component (矢+厂+亻). In contrast, 偻 specifically refers to a physical stooped posture, and its right side 婁 is unique to words about bending or curving.

偻 is rarely used alone; it mostly appears in the two-word terms 伛偻 (yǔ lǚ) and 佝偻 (gōu lóu) to describe a hunchbacked person or spinal deformity. You may see it in medical or literary contexts, but it is not common in everyday conversation — most Mandarin speakers would say "驼背" (tuóbèi) instead.

Common words containing 偻 include: 伛偻 (yǔ lǚ) — Hunchbacked; stooping.; 佝偻 (gōu lóu) — hunchbacked; rickets.