How to Write 洧 (wěi) — Meaning “Wei (name of a river)”

Imagine a river (氵) that people say "We have (有) to see the Wei River!" The pinyin wěi sounds like "way," so you can think: "The way to the river is through water." This pairs the sound and components together.

Start with the three dots of the water radical from left to right, then write 有: a left-falling stroke, a horizontal, a vertical hook, and the inner moon shape. Keep the right side narrow so the whole character stays balanced and does not become too wide.

洧 has 有 on the right, while 汧 has 开 (kāi) and 㳄 has 欠 (qiàn) on the right. The right components look different: 有 has a horizontal and a hook, 开 has two horizontal lines, and 欠 has a different top shape. Also, 洧 refers to the Wei River, 汧 to another river, and 㳄 means saliva.

洧 is not common in daily conversation but appears in geographic names like 洧河 (Wěi Hé, the Wei River in Henan) and 洧川 (Wěi Chuān, a place name). You might see it in historical texts or when learning about ancient Chinese rivers.

Common words containing 洧 include: 洧河 (wěi hé) — Wei River; 洧川 (wěi chuān) — Weichuan (a place name); 洧水 (wěi shuǐ) — Wei River.