How to Write 癯 (qú) — Meaning “thin; emaciated; lean”

Imagine a thin, sick person (疒) who stares (瞿) at food but cannot eat, becoming even more gaunt. The right part 瞿 looks like two eyes (目目) and a person (隹) watching sadly, reinforcing the idea of a lean, wasted figure.

With 23 strokes, 癯 is very complex. Pay special attention to the right part 瞿: write the two 目 vertically first, then the 隹 below. A common mistake is to make the 隹 too wide — keep it narrow so the left side 疒 has enough space.

Both use the illness radical 疒, but the right sides differ completely. 癯 has 瞿 (qú) meaning "gaunt," while 癫 has 颠 (diān) meaning "top" or "insane." Their meanings are opposite: 癯 describes physical thinness, whereas 癫 describes mental craziness (e.g., 癫狂).

癯 is rare in everyday speech and appears mainly in literary or classical descriptions, like 清癯 (lean and gaunt) for an elderly scholar. It carries a poetic, even admirable quality, suggesting someone refined or spiritual despite their thinness, as in 癯仙 (ethereal scholar).

Common words containing 癯 include: 清癯 (qīng qú) — Lean and gaunt.; 癯瘦 (qú shòu) — very thin; emaciated; 癯仙 (qú xiān) — a lean, immortal-like person; a scholar of ethereal appearance.