How to Write 沭 (shù) — Meaning “Shu (name of a river)”

Imagine the water radical 氵 as flowing water, and the right part 术 looks like a tree with branches. Picture a river (氵) flowing beside a tall tree (术) — that river is the Shu River, written as 沭.

Start by writing the three dots of 氵 from left to right as small strokes. Then write the right part 术: first a horizontal stroke, then a vertical stroke crossing it, followed by a left-falling stroke, a right-falling stroke, and finally a small dot on the lower right. Make sure the vertical stroke passes through the center of the horizontal stroke.

沭 has a right component 术 (tree/art), while 汊 has a right component 叉 (fork) and means a branch of a river. 㳄 is an ancient, rare character meaning saliva or to drool, and its right side is similar to 欠. Visually, 沭’s right part has a vertical stroke and symmetrical branches, while 汊’s right part has a crossing shape like an X.

沭 appears mainly in place names such as the 沭河 (Shu River) and the counties of 沭阳 (Shuyang in Jiangsu) and 临沭 (Linshu in Shandong). It is not a common word in daily conversation, but is important for geography and local culture in eastern China.

Common words containing 沭 include: 沭河 (shù hé) — Shu River; 沭阳 (shù yáng) — Shuyang (a county in Jiangsu); 临沭 (lín shù) — Linshu (a county in Shandong).