How to Write 鹋 (miáo) — Meaning “emu”

Imagine a big emu standing in a field of green seedlings (苗). The bird radical 鸟 on the left shows it is a bird, and the seedling on the right reminds you of its plant-based diet. This picture helps connect the shape to the animal.

When writing 鹋, pay attention to the left radical 鸟: it has 5 strokes and the last stroke is a horizontal line, not a hook. The right part 苗 must be written with the grass radical 艹 on top (3 strokes) and then 田 below (5 strokes), making sure the 田 is centered under the 艹.

鹋 (miáo) specifically means 'emu' and is only used in the word 鸸鹋, while 鸸 (ér) by itself does not have a meaning and only appears in 鸸鹋. 鸷 (zhì) means a fierce bird of prey, like a hawk, and is visually different because its right part is 执 (zhí, to hold) instead of 苗.

鹋 is almost never used alone; it only appears in the compound word 鸸鹋 (ér miáo), which means 'emu'. This word is used when talking about the Australian bird, especially in zoos, nature documentaries, or when discussing wildlife. There is no special cultural or historical meaning beyond referring to the animal.

Common words containing 鹋 include: 鸸鹋 (ér miáo) — emu; 澳洲鸸鹋 (ào zhōu ér miáo) — Australian emu; 一只鸸鹋 (yī zhī ér miáo) — an emu.