How to Write 腽 (wà) — Meaning “fat / fur seal”

Imagine a fur seal living in a house (屋) made of meat (月) - the seal is so fat that its house is built from flesh. This image connects the meaning 'fat, fur seal' with the two parts of the character.

Pay attention to the left-right balance: the 月 radical is narrow and tall, while the right side 屋 is wider. A common mistake is writing the top of 屋 (尸) too small or forgetting the dot inside the 月 radical - actually 月 as a radical has two horizontal strokes, not three, so keep it clean.

腽 has 月 on the left and 屋 on the right, while 望 (wàng, to look/hope) has 月 at the bottom under 亡 and above 王. 朝 (zhāo/cháo, morning/dynasty) has 月 on the right side with 龺 on the left. Their meanings are completely unrelated, so focus on the different structural positions of 月.

腽 is a rare character used mainly in the word 腽肭 (wànà) for 'fur seal' and in traditional Chinese medicine for 腽肭脐 (wànàqí, seal kidney). It does not appear in everyday speech; you will only encounter it in zoology books or herbal medicine references.

Common words containing 腽 include: 腽肭 (wà nà) — fur seal; 腽肭兽 (wà nà shòu) — fur seal; 腽肭脐 (wà nà qí) — seal kidney (used in traditional medicine).