How to Write 慴 (shè) — Meaning “to fear; to be terrified”

Imagine your heart (忄) is practicing (習) being scared again and again, so you feel terrified. This mental picture of a heart that keeps rehearsing fear helps you connect the shape to the meaning 'to be terrified'.

Write the left radical 忄 first: dot, dot, vertical stroke. Then the right side 習, which has many strokes — start with the top horizontal, then the left part of 羽, then the 白 below. Keep the left radical about one-third of the width and the right side two-thirds, and avoid making the right side too narrow or messy.

惰 (duò) means 'lazy' and has the right side 隋, while 惴 (zhuì) means 'anxious' and has the right side 耑. 慴 (shè) means 'to be terrified' and uses 習 on the right. Visually, the right parts are completely different, and the meanings are distinct: fear versus laziness versus worry.

慴 is a rare, literary character, not used in daily conversation. It appears in formal or classical texts, such as in words like 震慴 (zhèn shè, 'to be awestruck') and 慴伏 (shè fú, 'to submit out of fear'). You might encounter it in historical novels or descriptions of extreme fear before authority.

Common words containing 慴 include: 慴伏 (shè fú) — to submit out of fear; to be cowed into submission; 震慴 (zhèn shè) — To be terrified; to be awestruck; 慴惧 (shè jù) — fear; dread; to be terrified.