How to Write 勿 (wù) — Meaning “do not”

Imagine someone saying 'Woo!' (sounds like wù) while holding up a hand to stop you. The character looks like a hand wrapped around a barrier, telling you 'do not' proceed.

The stroke order is: left-falling, horizontal hook, then left-falling, and finally right-falling. A common mistake is making the two inner strokes too short or uneven; they should extend clearly inside the wrapper. Keep the top hook narrow so the character stays compact.

勹 is only a radical (meaning 'wrap') and never stands alone, while 勿 is a complete character. 勺 means 'spoon' and has a single dot inside the wrapper, whereas 勿 has two diagonal strokes (left-falling and right-falling) inside.

勿 is used in formal or written Chinese to express prohibition, often on signs and instructions such as 请勿吸烟 (Please do not smoke). It is more classical and polite than 不要, and appears in historical texts and modern official notices.

Common words containing 勿 include: 请勿 (qǐng wù) — Please do not.; 勿动 (wù dòng) — do not touch; 勿忘 (wù wàng) — do not forget.