How to Write 祘 (suàn) — Meaning “to calculate; to count”

Imagine you stand in a forest (林) and need to count all the trees. You put up a sign (示) that says 'Count me!' to help recall the character.

Write the top part 示 first: two horizontal lines, then a vertical line, and finally a dot on the left side. The bottom part 林 consists of two 木 characters side by side; keep them balanced and not too wide. A common mistake is making the left 木 too large or forgetting the dot in 示.

The key difference is the top part: 祘 has 示 on top and 林 below, while 祟 has 出 on top and 示 below, and 票 has 西 on top and 示 below. Their meanings are also different: 祘 is about calculation, 祟 means evil spirit, and 票 means ticket.

祘 is an older variant of 算 (suàn) and is rarely used in modern everyday language. You may find it in classical texts or in specific terms like 祘术 (arithmetic) and 祘盘 (abacus), which are traditional calculating tools.

Common words containing 祘 include: 祘术 (suàn shù) — arithmetic; calculation; 祘计 (suàn jì) — to calculate; to plan; 祘盘 (suàn pán) — abacus.