How to Write 觫 (sù) — Meaning “to tremble with fear”

Picture a goat with sharp horns (角) tied up in a bundle (束), shaking violently because it is scared. The image of a bound horned animal trembling helps connect the form to the meaning. Remember: "Horned creature + bundle = trembling fear."

Write the left part 角 first, then the right part 束 — make sure the vertical stroke in 束 passes through the middle of the "mouth"-like part. A common mistake is to confuse the right side with 朿 (cì, thorn), but 束 has a horizontal line across the top. Keep the two halves balanced, with the left slightly narrower than the right.

Visually, 觫 has 束 on the right, while 觚 has 瓜 (melon) and 觜 has 此 (this). In meaning, 觫 means "to tremble with fear," whereas 觚 is a type of ancient wine cup and 觜 means "beak" or "snout." The three characters also have different pronunciations: 觫 is sù, 觚 is gū, 觜 is zī.

觫 is very rare in everyday speech and appears mainly in classical literature or set phrases like 觳觫 (hú sù), meaning "trembling with fear." It is famously used in the Mencius story about a king seeing an ox being led to sacrifice and feeling pity for its fearful trembling. Today, you might encounter it in formal or literary contexts, but not in casual conversation.

Common words containing 觫 include: 觳觫 (hú sù) — to tremble with fear; 觫觫 (sù sù) — trembling with fear; 惊觫 (jīng sù) — Trembling with fear.