How to Write 诬 (wū) — Meaning “to slander”

Imagine a sorcerer (巫) speaking (讠) false accusations against someone. You can picture a wizard telling lies to a judge, which sounds like "woo" — the pinyin wū helps link the image to the character.

The left radical 讠 has two strokes: a dot and a horizontal-turning stroke — do not extend it too far right. The right part 巫 has symmetrical strokes but note that the two "people" (人) inside are written as 从 with a horizontal stroke in the middle, not as identical components.

Unlike 证 (to prove, with 正 meaning correct) or 诂 (to explain ancient texts, with 古 meaning ancient), 诬 specifically means to slander or falsely accuse. Visually, 诬 uses 巫 on the right, while 证 uses 正 and 诂 uses 古.

诬 appears in serious legal or moral contexts, such as 诬告 (to falsely accuse someone in court) or 诬陷 (to frame someone). It carries a strong negative sense of deliberate dishonesty, so you would not use it for simple mistakes or misunderstandings.

Common words containing 诬 include: 诬告 (wū gào) — to falsely accuse; 诬陷 (wū xiàn) — to frame someone; 诬赖 (wū lài) — to frame up.