How to Write 媠 (tuǒ) — Meaning “Beautiful; lazy.”

Picture a beautiful woman (女) staying under a roof (㐭) all day — she is lazy but still looks lovely. This image combines both meanings of the character: beautiful and lazy.

The left radical 女 should be written narrow and slightly slanting, while the right part 㐭 must have the top dot centered and the final vertical stroke straight. A common mistake is making the right side too tall, which throws off the balance of the whole character.

Unlike 媠, which means both beautiful and lazy, 姬 (jī) usually refers to a female entertainer or is used as a surname, and 娉 (pīng) means graceful and elegant. Visually, 媠‘s right side 㐭 looks like a small roof, while 姬 has a right part resembling a kneeling person and 娉 has the right part 甹.

媠 is extremely rare in modern Chinese and does not appear in the HSK word lists. It is mostly encountered in classical texts or poetic language, for example in the word 媠慢 (tuǒ màn) meaning “lazy and disrespectful.” Learners are unlikely to need it for daily communication.

Common words containing 媠 include: 媠慢 (tuǒ màn) — Lazy and disrespectful.; 媠容 (tuǒ róng) — Beautiful appearance.; 媠态 (tuǒ tài) — Graceful posture..