How to Write 驴 (lǘ) — Meaning “Donkey”

Imagine a horse (马) standing in front of a door (户), but instead of a horse, it is actually a donkey. This visual trick helps you recall that 驴 means donkey because the donkey is like a horse at your doorstep.

Pay attention to the proportions: the left 马 radical should be narrow and compact, while the right 户 should be slightly taller and wider. A common mistake is making the 马 too wide or forgetting the small hook inside the 户 component, which is written as a dot followed by a horizontal fold.

The three characters share the 马 radical but differ in their right-side components: 驴 has 户 (door), 驭 has 又 (hand), and 驮 has 大 (big). Meaning-wise, 驴 is a noun for "donkey," while 驭 means "to drive" and 驮 means "to carry on one's back."

驴 is commonly used to refer to the animal donkey, as in 小驴 (small donkey) and 驴肉 (donkey meat, a specialty in some regions like Hebei). The word 驴友 (travel buddy) has become a modern slang for backpackers, showing how the donkey's role as a pack animal inspired a term for fellow travelers.

Common words containing 驴 include: 小驴 (xiǎo lǘ) — small donkey; 驴肉 (lǘ ròu) — Donkey meat; 驴友 (lǘ yǒu) — Backpacker; travel buddy.