How to Write 惺 (xīng) — Meaning “clear-headed”

Imagine your heart (忄) is as clear and bright as a shining star (星) in the night sky. This helps you remember that 惺 means 'clear-headed' — your mind is as clear as the light of a star.

Write the heart radical 忄 first: left vertical stroke, then left dot, then right dot. Next write 星: the top 日 (sun) should be slightly narrower, then the bottom 生 (life) is wider. A common mistake is making the heart radical too wide or forgetting the small vertical stroke inside 日.

惺 has 星 (star) on the right and means 'clear-headed', while 悃 has 困 (trapped) and means 'sincere' or 'honest', and 悄 has 肖 (resemble) and means 'quiet' or 'sad'. Visually, the right parts are completely different: 星, 困, and 肖 have distinct shapes and stroke counts.

惺 appears in common words like 惺忪 (xīng sōng, drowsy) for sleepy eyes, 假惺惺 (jiǎ xīng xīng, hypocritical), and the idiom 惺惺相惜 (xīng xīng xiāng xī, mutual admiration between clever people). The idiom is often used to describe two talented or intelligent people who respect each other.

Common words containing 惺 include: 惺忪 (xīng sōng) — drowsy; 假惺惺 (jiǎ xīng xīng) — hypocritical; unauthentic; 惺惺相惜 (xīng xīng xiāng xī) — mutual admiration.