How to Write 僖 (xī) — Meaning “cautious; merry; joyful”

Imagine a happy person (亻) who is so joyful that they say "yee!" (sounds like xī) while holding a big smile (喜). Or think of the phrase "see joy" — the right side 喜 looks like a face with wide eyes and a smiling mouth. This visual helps link the character to its meaning of delight.

Write the left radical 亻 first with two strokes: one slanted down-left and one vertical. Then write the right side 喜, starting with the top 士, then two 口 shapes, and finally the bottom 口 — a total of 14 strokes. Common mistakes include making the right side too wide or misaligning the 口 parts, so keep the overall shape balanced and compact.

僖 has the happiness character 喜 on the right, while 傅 has 尃 (related to spreading or teaching) and 傈 has 栗 (chestnut). Visually, 僖's right side has multiple 口 components, whereas 傅's right side has 甫 and 寸, and 傈's has 覀 and 木. In meaning, 僖 means joy, 傅 means tutor, and 傈 is a surname or ethnic group name.

僖 is very rare in everyday modern Chinese and is mostly found in classical texts, historical names, or formal titles such as 僖公 (Duke Xi of an ancient state). It appears in a few literary words like 僖乐 (joy) or 恭僖 (respectful and auspicious), but these are not common. The character is not in the HSK list, so learners may only encounter it in specialized or historical contexts.

Common words containing 僖 include: 僖乐 (xī lè) — joy; happiness; 恭僖 (gōng xī) — respectful and auspicious; 僖事 (xī shì) — happy event.