How to Write 鸥 (ōu) — Meaning “Gull / Seagull”

Imagine a seagull flying over a specific 'area' (区) of the sea — the left part sounds like 'ōu' and the right part means bird. This visual helps you link 海鸥 (seagull) to the character.

The left part 区 has an inner 乂, which must be written after the outer frame: first the left vertical, then top horizontal, then the inner 乂, then the bottom horizontal. Avoid making the right side's 鸟 too wide — keep the left and right balanced.

鸥 has the bird radical 鸟 on the right, while 袅 has the bird radical 鸟 on the bottom and means 'slender' or 'curling up'. 鸠 also has 鸟 on the right but uses a different left component (九), meaning 'turtledove'.

鸥 appears mainly in the common word 海鸥 (seagull), which is often used in coastal descriptions, poetry, and tourism. The character is not in HSK but is recognizable to learners through nature-related vocabulary and idioms about freedom.

Common words containing 鸥 include: 海鸥 (hǎi ōu) — Seagull; 鸥群 (ōu qún) — A flock of gulls; 鸥鸟 (ōu niǎo) — Seagull.