How to Write 黠 (xiá) — Meaning “Shrewd; crafty; cunning”

Imagine a sly fox with black fur saying "good luck" to trick you—that is 黠 (xiá). The black (黑) stands for its dark tricks, and the "good luck" (吉) is its fake kindness. This visual of a cunning black fox helps link the parts to the meaning "crafty."

Start with the left radical 黑 (12 strokes), then write the right part 吉 (6 strokes) for 18 total. A common mistake is confusing the top of 吉 (士, scholar) with 土 (earth)—the top horizontal line is shorter than the bottom one. Also keep the four dots under 黑 evenly spaced and not too close to 吉.

All three share the radical 黑, but the right sides differ: 黠 has 吉 (good luck), 黔 has 今 (now), and 默 has 犬 (dog). Meaning-wise, 黠 means "shrewd and cunning" (negative), 黔 is a place name (Guizhou) or means "black," and 默 means "silent" or "quiet." Visually, remember that 黠 has a "lucky" part but describes a clever trickster.

黠 is a literary word not in the HSK list, mostly found in written phrases like 狡黠 (sly) and 黠慧 (shrewd). It describes a clever, often deceitful person—like a cunning fox in Chinese stories. You won't hear it in daily conversation, but it appears in novels or historical texts to emphasize sharp but dishonest intelligence.

Common words containing 黠 include: 狡黠 (jiǎo xiá) — sly; 聪黠 (cōng xiá) — clever and crafty; 黠慧 (xiá huì) — Shrewd and clever.