How to Write 饨 (tún) — Meaning “wonton”

Picture a wonton as a little food packet (饣) that is stored (屯) in a bowl of soup. The right side 屯 looks like a small stack of wontons piled together. This visual helps you recall both the meaning and the pronunciation tún.

The left radical 饣 is written with three strokes: a short left-falling stroke, a horizontal hook, and a vertical lift. The right part 屯 has four strokes: horizontal, vertical fold hook, vertical stroke, and final horizontal. Pay special attention to the fold hook — a common mistake is making the hook too long or forgetting the vertical stroke through the middle.

饨 (tún) means wonton and uses the right side 屯. 饥 (jī) means hunger and has the right side 几 (a small table). 饧 (xíng) means sugar or syrup and has the right side 昜 (yáng). Visually, 屯 has a vertical line through the center, while 几 has no descending stroke, and 昜 is more complex with extra lines.

饨 almost always appears in the word 馄饨 (hún tún), meaning wonton — a popular Chinese dumpling served in soup. You might see it on menus for 馄饨面 (wonton noodles) or in cooking instructions like 煮馄饨 (to cook wontons). It is rarely used alone and is a common food term in Chinese-speaking regions.

Common words containing 饨 include: 馄饨 (hún tún) — Wonton; 馄饨面 (hún tún miàn) — Wonton noodles; 煮馄饨 (zhǔ hún tún) — to cook wontons.