How to Write 腧 (shù) — Meaning “acupoint”

Think of the left radical 月 as a piece of skin, and the right side 俞 as a person lying down with a needle (like the shape of 俞). This image represents an acupoint being stimulated. The sound shù also reminds me of 'shoe,' so imagine a shoe pressing on a foot acupoint.

The left radical 月 (flesh radical) should be written narrow and slightly curved, different from the sun radical 日. Inside the right side 俞, there is another 月 component that is smaller and more compact. Common mistakes include making the left radical too wide or confusing the inner 月 with another shape.

腧 always involves the 'flesh' radical and refers to body acupoints in medicine, while 望 means 'to hope' or 'full moon' with a different upper part (亡). 朝 means 'morning' or 'dynasty' and combines 早 (early) with 月 (moon), not flesh. Visually, 腧 has a 俞 on the right, unlike 望's 王 below and 朝's 早 on the left.

腧 is used almost exclusively in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) contexts, such as in acupuncture textbooks or clinic descriptions. Common terms include 腧穴 (acupuncture point) and 背腧穴 (back-shu points). It is not used in everyday conversation, but it is an important specialist term for practitioners and students of TCM.

Common words containing 腧 include: 腧穴 (shù xué) — acupuncture point; 背腧穴 (bèi shù xué) — Back-shu points (acupuncture); 经腧 (jīng shù) — Meridian points (in TCM)..