How to Write 涎 (xián) — Meaning “saliva; spittle”

Imagine a person drooling: the water radical 氵 represents the liquid, and the right side looks like a mouth with a drip coming down. This image of "mouth water" helps you recall the meaning of saliva.

When writing the right side 㕣, start with a downward stroke (撇), then a horizontal hook, followed by a vertical stroke. A common mistake is making the last curved stroke (竖弯钩) too tight or forgetting to curve it outward.

涎 and 㳄 share the same ancient meaning of saliva, but 涎 is the modern standard character while 㳄 is rarely used. 汧 (qiān) looks similar but has the right part 开 and means a river name in ancient Chinese, so it has no connection to saliva.

涎 appears in formal or literary phrases like 垂涎 (to covet, literally 'drool') and 涎皮 (thick-skinned, cheeky). A famous idiom is 垂涎三尺, meaning to strongly desire something, and it is often used in writing rather than casual conversation.

Common words containing 涎 include: 垂涎 (chuí xián) — to drool; to covet; 涎水 (xián shuǐ) — saliva; slobber; 涎皮 (xián pí) — thick-skinned; cheeky; shameless.