How to Write 嫫 (mó) — Meaning “name component (referring to Mo Mu)”

Imagine a woman (女) who is so humble that she says '莫' (meaning 'don't') to being called beautiful. This reminds you of Mo Mu, the virtuous but plain wife of the Yellow Emperor. The visual of a woman rejecting praise helps fix the character in memory.

The left part 女 should be written with its third stroke (a long left-slanting line) stopping before it touches the right side 莫. The right part 莫 contains 艹 (grass radical) on top, then 日 (sun), then 大 (big); make sure 日 is narrower than 艹 and 大 to keep balance. A common mistake is making the 莫 too wide or misordering the strokes of 女.

嫫 has 莫 on the right, while 娶 has 取 (meaning 'take') and means 'to marry.' 娼 has 昌 (meaning 'prosperous') and means 'prostitute.' All three share the woman radical 女, but their right-side components give completely different meanings and pronunciations. Visually, 莫 (10 strokes) is more complex than 取 (8 strokes) or 昌 (8 strokes).

嫫 is very rare and appears mostly in historical or literary texts referring to Mo Mu, the legendary ugly but virtuous wife of the Yellow Emperor. It is not in modern HSK vocabulary, but you may encounter it in idioms like 丑嫫 (chǒu mó) meaning 'ugly woman.' The story of Mo Mu emphasizes that inner virtue matters more than appearance.

Common words containing 嫫 include: 嫫母 (mó mǔ) — Mo Mu (wife of the Yellow Emperor); 丑嫫 (chǒu mó) — ugly woman (referring to the legendary virtuous but plain Mo Mu); 嫫母像 (mó mǔ xiàng) — statue of Mo Mu.