How to Write 淞 (sōng) — Meaning “Song (often referring to the Wusong River)”

Imagine a pine tree (松) standing beside a river (氵), creating a beautiful landscape of frost and rime. The word 雾淞 (wù sōng) actually describes rime ice that forms on trees, so picture a pine tree covered in frost near water. This visual connects the parts to the character's meaning.

Write the water radical first as three strokes: dot, dot, lift. Then write the right part 松: start with the horizontal stroke for 木, then vertical, left-falling, right-falling; finally add the 公 component with left-falling, right-falling, dot, and stroke. A common mistake is making the right side too wide; keep the left water radical narrow and the right side balanced.

淞 (sōng) contains the water radical and 松 (pine), and is used in place names and rime ice. 洁 (jié) has the water radical with 吉 (good luck) and means clean or pure. 洄 (huí) has the water radical with 回 (return) and means backflow of water. Pay attention to the right-side component to tell them apart.

淞 is primarily used in proper nouns like 吴淞 (Wúsōng, a port area in Shanghai) and 淞沪 (Sōnghù, referring to the Wusong and Shanghai region, as in the Battle of Songhu). It also appears in 雾淞 (wùsōng), which describes a beautiful winter rime ice phenomenon on trees. The character is not common in everyday vocabulary but is culturally significant in place names and historical events.

Common words containing 淞 include: 雾淞 (wù sōng) — Rime; 吴淞 (wú sōng) — Wusong (a place in Shanghai); 淞沪 (sōng hù) — Songhu (referring to Wusong and Shanghai).