How to Write 帖 (tiē/tiě/tiè) — Meaning “A post, note, or invitation.”

Imagine a piece of cloth (巾) with a note attached to it using a 'tie' (sounds like tiē). Or think of 'tie' as in tying a message to a board—the cloth note becomes a 帖子 (post). The sound and shape help link the meaning.

Write the left radical 巾 first (vertical, horizontal hook, vertical). Then add 占 on the right, keeping it narrow so the whole character is balanced. A common mistake is making 占 too wide or misaligning its bottom horizontal with the bottom of 巾.

帖 has 占 on the right (top part like 卜), while 帆 (sail) has 凡 (wind) on the right. 师 (teacher) uses 巾 on both sides but with a different right component (帀). Visually, 帖’s right side has a '卜' shape; 帆’s right is 凡 with a hook; 师’s right is like a short vertical with a horizontal line.

帖 is very common as 帖子 (tiě zi), meaning an online forum post or an invitation card. It also appears in words like 妥帖 (tuǒ tiē, appropriate) and 伏帖 (fú tiē, submissive). In Chinese culture, red invitation cards for weddings are called 喜帖 (xǐ tiě).

Common words containing 帖 include: 妥帖 (tuǒ tiē) — Appropriate / Properly handled / Satisfactory.; 伏帖 (fú tiē) — Submissive / Well-settled; 帖子 (tiě zi) — A post (online) or an invitation card..