How to Write 鼯 (wú) — Meaning “Flying squirrel / Colugo”

Imagine a flying squirrel saying 'Woo! I (吾) am a squirrel (鼠)!' The right side 吾 sounds like 'woo', which matches the excitement of gliding through the air. Picture the squirrel spreading its flaps like wings as it shouts "Wú!" to help you recall the pinyin and meaning.

Start with the left radical 鼠: write the top part (臼-like shape) first, then the left vertical, then the right part with small strokes for legs and tail. The right side 吾 has 7 strokes: horizontal, horizontal, vertical, horizontal, vertical, horizontal fold, horizontal. A common mistake is making the left radical too tall or crowding the right side—keep them balanced, with 鼠 taking about half the width. The total is 20 strokes, so take your time.

All three share the 鼠 radical, but the right side differs. 鼯 has 吾 (wú) and means flying squirrel. 鼩 has a different phonetic (qu? data shows empty parentheses) and usually refers to a shrew, a small insect-eating mammal. 鼬 (yòu) has 由 (yóu) and means weasel or skunk. Visually, 鼯's right part has more strokes (7) than 鼬's (5), and 鼩's right part is less common—so focus on the phonetic component to tell them apart.

鼯 is rarely used alone; it appears mostly in compound words like 鼯鼠 (flying squirrel) and 鼯猴 (colugo). These animals are not common in daily life, so the character is mainly seen in nature documentaries or scientific texts. In Chinese culture, flying squirrels are sometimes associated with folklore about animals that can 'fly' between trees, but there is no major myth tied specifically to 鼯.

Common words containing 鼯 include: 鼯鼠 (wú shǔ) — Flying squirrel; 鼯猴 (wú hóu) — Colugo (Flying lemur); 鼯皮 (wú pí) — Flying squirrel fur.