How to Write 甤 (ruí) — Meaning “Drooping / Luxuriant growth”

Imagine a lush plant (艹) that is full of life (生) and has long, drooping hairy leaves (彡). The image of a plant with hair-like tendrils hanging down helps you connect the components to the meaning of drooping or luxuriant.

Start by writing the top grass radical 艹 (horizontal stroke, then two verticals). Next write 生: first a short left-falling stroke, then horizontal, vertical, horizontal, and a final vertical line. Finish with the bottom 彡: three short downward strokes. A common mistake is making the 彡 too long or misaligning it with the center of 生.

Visually, 甤 has a grass radical on top and 彡 at the bottom, while 甥 (shēng) uses 生 on the left and 男 (male) on the right. In meaning, 甤 describes plants that are lush or drooping, but 甥 means 'nephew' (the son of one's sister). They are not interchangeable.

甤 is a rare and literary character, not part of daily speech. It appears in classical phrases like 葳甤 (wēi ruí) meaning lush or flourishing, often describing beautiful plants in poetry. You might also see 甤甤 to stress the drooping or abundant look, but it is not used in common conversation.

Common words containing 甤 include: 甤甤 (ruí ruí) — Luxuriant / Drooping; 葳甤 (wēi ruí) — luxuriant / flourishing; 纷甤 (fēn ruí) — luxuriant; drooping in clusters.