How to Write 鸬 (lú) — Meaning “Cormorant”

Imagine a cormorant bird (鸟) sitting on a square rock (卢) while fishing. The square shape of 卢 reminds you of a small boat or platform the bird stands on, and the bird radical clearly shows it is a bird.

Pay attention to the stroke order of the left radical 鸟: dot, left vertical, horizontal, vertical, then horizontal hook. The right part 卢 has five strokes: horizontal, left vertical, horizontal, vertical, horizontal. Keep the two parts balanced horizontally, and do not make the hook of 鸟 too large.

The key difference is structure: 鸬 is left-right with 鸟 on the left and 卢 on the right. 袅 is top-bottom with 鸟 on top and 衣 (clothes) below, meaning slender or curling. 鸢 is also top-bottom with 弋 (a hook) on top and 鸟 below, meaning kite (a bird of prey). Their shapes and components are distinct.

鸬 is almost always used in the compound word 鸬鹚 (lú cí), meaning cormorant. It appears in cultural contexts like 鸬鹚捕鱼 (cormorant fishing), a traditional Chinese fishing technique using trained birds that is still practiced in some rural areas.

Common words containing 鸬 include: 鸬鹚 (lú cí) — Cormorant; 鸬鹚捕鱼 (lú cí bǔ yú) — Cormorant fishing; 鸬鹚鸟 (lú cí niǎo) — Cormorant bird.