How to Write 浉 (shī) — Meaning “Shi (used in river and place names)”

Picture a teacher (师) standing next to a river (氵) and saying, "This is the Shi River." The water radical reminds you it is a river name, and "师" sounds like "shi."

When writing 浉, first write the three dots of the water radical on the left. Then write the right part 师: start with the left-falling stroke (丿), then the horizontal strokes and vertical stroke. Keep the right side narrow so the whole character stays balanced.

浉 uses the right component 师 (teacher), while 㳄 has 欠 (yawn) and 汧 has 开 (open). Although all contain the water radical, 浉 specifically appears in the names of the Shi River and Shihe District, whereas 㳄 means saliva and 汧 is another river name with a different pronunciation (qiān).

You will almost only see 浉 in geographic names, such as 浉河 (Shi River) in Henan Province or 浉河区 (Shihe District) in Xinyang city. It is not used in daily conversation or standard HSK vocabulary, so it mainly appears on maps and local signs.

Common words containing 浉 include: 浉河 (shī hé) — Shi River (Shihe); 浉河区 (shī hé qū) — Shihe District; 浉水 (shī shuǐ) — Shi River (Shishui).