How to Write 瘰 (luǒ) — Meaning “scrofula (tuberculosis of the lymph nodes)”

Picture a sick person (radical 疒) lying in bed with a pile of small, bumpy knots on their neck. The right part 累 looks like a stack of little lumps. This helps you recall that 瘰 means a disease with clustered swellings.

Write the radical 疒 first (dot, horizontal left-falling, vertical, left-falling, dot). Then add 累: write the upper 田 (enclosure with two crosses), then the lower 糸 (silk radical). A common mistake is making the 田 too wide or forgetting the dot inside the radical.

瘰 (luǒ) specifically means scrofula—tuberculosis of the lymph nodes. 瘊 (hóu) means a wart, a small growth on the skin, and 瘌 (là) refers to a type of leprosy or scaly skin disease. Visually, the right side differs: 累 vs 侯 vs 剌.

瘰 is a medical term used mostly in traditional Chinese medicine or historical texts. You might find it in phrases like 瘰疬 (luǒ lì, scrofula) or 治瘰疬 (to treat scrofula). It is not common in everyday conversation, but appears in literature about diseases.

Common words containing 瘰 include: 瘰疬 (luǒ lì) — scrofula; 瘰疬核 (luǒ lì hé) — scrofulous node; 治瘰疬 (zhì luǒ lì) — To treat scrofula.