How to Write 澍 (shù) — Meaning “timely rain”

Imagine a tree (尌 sounds a bit like "shù" as in tree) standing in a field, and the water radical 氵 is rain falling on it. This timely rain revives the tree, so you remember 澍 means life-giving rain at the perfect moment.

The right part 尌 has three horizontal strokes at the top (士), followed by a mouth (口) and then 寸 below. Keep the left water radical narrower than the right side, and ensure the bottom 寸 extends slightly lower than the mouth. A common mistake is making the right part look like 封 or mixing up the order of strokes in 尌.

溏 means "muddy" or "puddle" and has a different right part (唐), while 源 means "source" of water (origin). In contrast, 澍 specifically refers to "timely rain" that benefits crops. Visually, 澍 has the right side 尌, whereas 溏 has 唐 (with a longer top) and 源 has 原 (with a cliff radical).

澍 is a classical literary word, not part of everyday speech, but it appears in idioms like 时澍 (shí shù) and poetic descriptions of beneficial rain. In traditional Chinese culture, timely rain after a drought was seen as a blessing from heaven, so 澍 carries a positive, almost reverent feeling of grace and favor.

Common words containing 澍 include: 澍雨 (shù yǔ) — timely rain; 澍泽 (shù zé) — timely rain; favor or grace; 时澍 (shí shù) — Timely rain..