How to Write 愀 (qiǎo) — Meaning “serious expression”

Imagine autumn (秋) leaves falling, and your heart (忄) feels heavy and serious. This picture helps you connect "autumn in the heart" with looking grave or sad. The mnemonic "my heart feels like autumn" reminds you that 愀 means a serious expression.

Write the left radical 忄 first as two dots and a vertical line, making sure the dots are small and the line is straight. On the right side 秋, the stroke order is 禾 first then 火, and keep the entire character balanced. A common mistake is making the heart radical too wide, which throws off the proportion.

悃 means sincere or honest and uses the heart radical with a different component (困), not related to facial expression. 悄 means quiet or stealthy and has a different meaning and sound (qiǎo). 愀 specifically refers to a grave or sorrowful look on the face, while the others describe inner qualities or sounds.

愀 appears mostly in written or literary Chinese, especially in phrases like 愀然 (qiǎo rán, looking grave) or 愀然变色 (suddenly turning serious). It is rarely used in daily conversation but adds a formal or emotional tone in news, novels, or historical writing.

Common words containing 愀 include: 愀然 (qiǎo rán) — looking grave; 愀然变色 (qiǎo rán biàn sè) — to suddenly look grave; 愀怆 (qiǎo chuàng) — sorrowful.