How to Write 瓯 (ōu) — Meaning “bowl or cup”

Think of the left side 区 as a tall bottle or container, and the right side 瓦 as a pottery piece. Together, they form a 'pottery cup' — imagine a tea bowl shaped like a tall region (区) made of clay (瓦).

The left component 区 must have its outer frame written first, then the inner X-like part. The right side 瓦 has a short horizontal stroke at the top, then a vertical stroke, and the final stroke is a sweeping hook. A common mistake is making the 瓦 too wide, but it should be slightly narrower than the left side.

Although both 瓯, 瓮, and 瓴 contain the 瓦 radical, 瓯 specifically means a small bowl or cup, while 瓮 means a large jar or urn. 瓴 refers to a roof tile or a type of ceramic bottle, so the size and shape are different. Visually, 瓯 has the left side 区, while 瓮 has 公 above 瓦, and 瓴 has 令 above 瓦.

Today, 瓯 is most often seen in the word 茶瓯 (chá ōu), meaning a tea bowl used in traditional tea ceremonies. It also appears in 金瓯 (jīn ōu), a poetic term for national territory, and in 瓯剧 (ōu jù), a regional opera from Zhejiang province. The character is not common in everyday speech but remains in literary and cultural expressions.

Common words containing 瓯 include: 茶瓯 (chá ōu) — tea bowl; 金瓯 (jīn ōu) — Golden goblet (symbolizing national territory); 瓯剧 (ōu jù) — Ou Opera.