How to Write 崴 (wǎi) — Meaning “To sprain / uneven”

Imagine you are walking on a mountain (山) and suddenly twist your ankle, making you shout "Woe!" — the sound 威 sounds like "woe." This connects the mountain setting to the meaning of spraining or unevenness.

Make sure the top mountain radical 山 is compact and centered, not too wide. The lower part 威 has a sloping hook on the right side that is easy to miss — it looks like a small tail curving inward. Common mistakes include making the 山 too large or forgetting the hook in 威.

崴 (wǎi) means to sprain or uneven, while 峨 (é) means lofty and is used in mountain names like 峨眉山. 峪 (yù) means valley. Visually, 崴 has 威 below, 峨 has 我, and 峪 has 谷. Their pronunciations and meanings are completely different.

崴 is most common in the phrase 崴脚 (wǎi jiǎo), which means to sprain one's ankle. It is also used in 崴了 (wǎi le) to say something is sprained, and 走崴了 (zǒu wǎi le) specifically for spraining an ankle while walking. It is a daily, spoken word, not formal literary Chinese.

Common words containing 崴 include: 崴脚 (wǎi jiǎo) — To sprain one's ankle; 崴了 (wǎi le) — Sprained; 走崴了 (zǒu wǎi le) — To sprain one's ankle while walking..