How to Write 耍 (shuǎ) — Meaning “To play / To juggle / To act shamelessly”

Imagine a woman (女) with a big beard (而) juggling several balls at once — that playful image captures the character's meaning. Another trick: 'She (女) uses her beard (而) to play tricks on others.'

Write the top part 而 first: horizontal, left vertical, horizontal, vertical, then horizontal. Then write the bottom 女 with left stroke, right stroke, and final horizontal. A common mistake is making the top too wide or the bottom misaligned — keep 而 narrow and center 女 underneath.

Visually, 耍 has 女 below, while 耐 has 寸 and 耑 has 山. Meaningwise, 耍 means 'to play or juggle', 耐 means 'to endure', and 耑 means 'beginning or end'. So remember: a woman playing (耍) vs. a hand enduring (耐) vs. a mountain at the start (耑).

耍 appears in everyday words like 玩耍 (to play), 耍脾气 (to throw a tantrum), and 耍花招 (to play tricks). It can have a neutral or slightly negative tone — for example, 耍脾气 implies childish anger, and 耍花招 suggests deception. The character is casual and common in spoken Chinese, but not used in formal writing.

Common words containing 耍 include: 玩耍 (wán shuǎ) — to play; to frolic; 耍脾气 (shuǎ pí qì) — To lose one's temper / To throw a tantrum; 耍花招 (shuǎ huā zhāo) — To play tricks.