How to Write 涑 (sù) — Meaning “Su (name of a river)”

Imagine a “water” (氵) flowing through a “bundle” or “束” of sticks, forming a narrow river. The sound “su” can be linked to “soo” as in “cool, soothing water.” This picture helps you associate the character with a river named Su.

Write the left radical 氵 first with three dots in a smooth curve. Then on the right, write 束: start with the horizontal stroke, then the vertical stroke through the center, and finish with the left and right strokes and a small mouth-like shape. A common mistake is making the right side too wide or forgetting the small horizontal stroke inside the ‘mouth’ part of 束.

涑 (sù) names a specific river, while 沫 (mò) means “foam” or “bubble” and 沭 (shù) is also a river name (Shu River). Visually, 涑 has 束 on the right, 沫 has 末 (mò) on the right, and 沭 has 术 (shù) on the right. Their pronunciations and meanings are distinct.

涑 is rarely used in daily conversation today; it appears mainly in historical or geographical contexts, such as the name of the Su River in China. You may encounter it in ancient texts or place names like “涑水” (Su River). It is not part of common vocabulary or the HSK word lists.

Common words containing 涑 include: 涑水 (sù shuǐ) — Su River; 涑河 (sù hé) — Su River; 涑 (sù) — Su (name of a river).