How to Write 鹜 (wù) — Meaning “wild duck”

Imagine a wild duck (鸟) that is always busy (敄) rushing around. The top part 敄 looks like a person working hard, so you can think "The busy bird is a wild duck."

Pay attention to the top component 敄: it has a horizontal stroke that must extend slightly left, and the bottom 鸟 should be narrow to fit under it. A common mistake is making the 鸟 part too wide, which messes up the balance of the character.

鹜 (wild duck) has the top part 敄, while 鹂 (a type of bird, like the oriole) has the phonetic component 丽 on top. Also, 鹜 is not common in HSK, but 鹂 appears in names of colorful birds. Focus on the top shape: 敄 vs 丽.

鹜 is mostly seen in the idiom 趋之若鹜 (qū zhī ruò wù), meaning 'to scramble for something like wild ducks'. It appears in formal writing or news to describe people rushing toward a trend. The single character is rare outside of this phrase or poetic contexts.

Common words containing 鹜 include: 野鹜 (yě wù) — Wild duck; 鹜鸟 (wù niǎo) — wild duck; 趋之若鹜 (qū zhī ruò wù) — To scramble for something; to flock to..