How to Write 瞍 (sǒu) — Meaning “Blind”

Imagine an old man (叟) with his eyes (目) closed because he is blind. The character combines "old man" and "eye" to remind you that this word means a blind person. Visualizing an elderly person unable to see can help you recall the meaning.

When writing 瞍, note that the left radical 目 is narrow and tall, while the right part 叟 has a top component that looks like a hand reaching down. Be careful to keep the strokes balanced, especially the long horizontal stroke in the middle of 叟. A common mistake is making the eye component too wide or forgetting the small dot inside the top of 叟.

While 瞍 means "blind" throughout, 睃 (suō) means "to squint" or "to stare," and 睇 (dì) means "to look askance" or "to glance." Visually, 睃 has 夋 (jùn) on the right, and 睇 has 弟 (dì) on the right; only 瞍 uses 叟. The meanings are distinct: 瞍 refers to permanent blindness, while 睃 and 睇 describe active eye movements.

The character 瞍 is very rarely used in modern everyday Chinese; it appears mainly in classical or literary texts. You may encounter it in phrases like 盲瞍 (máng sǒu) meaning "blind person" in formal or poetic contexts. It is not part of the HSK vocabulary, so learners should recognize it mainly for reading classical literature rather than daily conversation.

Common words containing 瞍 include: 盲瞍 (máng sǒu) — blind person (literary); 瞍者 (sǒu zhě) — The blind; 瞍子 (sǒu zi) — Blind person.