How to Write 亾 (wáng) — Meaning “To die or perish”

Imagine a stick figure (人) that has been crossed out with a big 'X' line, like in a game where a character is dead. The extra stroke says "this person is gone" — that helps you recall the meaning 'to die or perish'.

Write the left-falling stroke of 人 first, then the right-falling stroke, and finish with a short diagonal stroke from top-left to bottom-right that cuts through the center. A common mistake is making the diagonal stroke too long or misplacing it off to the side; it should clearly cross the person shape.

人 means 'person' and has no extra stroke, representing a living human. 亻 is a radical form of 人 used only on the left side of characters (e.g., 他), never standing alone. 亾 always has the crossing stroke and specifically means 'dead' or 'perished', never 'person'.

亾 is an old variant of the character 亡 (wáng) and is rarely used in modern simplified Chinese except in classical texts or calligraphy. You may see it in words like 逃亾 (to flee into exile) or 亾命 (to flee for one's life), but today 亡 is the standard form.

Common words containing 亾 include: 逃亾 (táo wáng) — to flee; to go into exile (variant); 亾命 (wáng mìng) — To flee for one's life; 亾故 (wáng gù) — Deceased or passed away.