How to Write 蘧 (qú) — Meaning “a type of grain; startled”

Imagine a startled deer (like 豦) jumping out of a patch of tall grass (艹), suddenly appearing — this links to the meaning "startled" in 蘧然. The grain meaning is trickier: think of a grain plant (艹) that seems to "startle" when its seeds burst open. Repeat the sound "chew" (qú) as you picture the deer chewing grass in surprise.

Write the grass radical 艹 first as two horizontal strokes, then the bottom part 豦 (19 strokes total). Be careful with the bottom-right section: it contains 虍 (tiger head) and 豕 (pig), which are often confused — ensure the tiger head has the hook stroke and the pig has a distinct curved tail. The overall shape is tall and narrow, so keep the top and bottom balanced.

蘧 is very rare, meaning a grain or startled, while 䕭 (qián) refers to a type of medicinal herb and is even rarer — they share the 艹 radical but differ in sound and bottom parts. 薰 (xūn) means "to smoke" or "scent" and is common in words like 薰衣草 (lavender); visually, 薰 has 熏 underneath, not 豦. Unlike 蘧, 薰 is used in everyday vocabulary about fragrance.

蘧 is extremely rare in modern Chinese and almost never appears in daily conversation. It appears mainly in classical literary phrases like 蘧然 (suddenly) in poetic contexts, or 蘧庐 (inn) in ancient texts. Most native speakers will not recognize this character unless they have studied classical literature.

Common words containing 蘧 include: 蘧然 (qú rán) — suddenly; startled; 蘧庐 (qú lú) — inn; temporary lodging; 蘧蘧 (qú qú) — happy and content (as in a dream).