How to Write 貌 (mào) — Meaning “appearance / look”

Imagine a polite cat (豸) showing off its face (皃) to look its best. The left side looks like a furry animal, and the right side looks like a face with a little hat, so you can remember 貌 as "an animal's face" to recall the meaning of appearance.

Pay attention to the balance between the left and right parts. The left radical 豸 has a long horizontal stroke near the bottom, and the right side 皃 should be about the same width. A common mistake is making the right side too tall or skinny; keep both parts similar in size.

All three characters share the left radical 豸 (animal), but their right sides differ. 貌 has 皃 (face/appearance), 貂 has 召 (meaning "call"), and 貅 has 休 (meaning "rest"). In meaning, 貌 is about looks or manners, while 貂 is a real animal (mink) and 貅 is a mythical beast from Chinese legend.

貌 appears in common words like 礼貌 (politeness) and 外貌 (physical appearance). It is used in both daily conversation and formal writing. A cultural note: the phrase 貌合神离 describes two people who seem to get along but are actually not close, which is a useful idiom to know for HSK 5.

Common words containing 貌 include: 礼貌 (lǐ mào) — Politeness / Manners; 外貌 (wài mào) — appearance / looks; 面貌 (miàn mào) — Appearance / features.