How to Write 擤 (xǐng) — Meaning “To blow (one's nose)”

Imagine your hand (扌) holding your nose (鼻) tightly before you blow. The right side 鼻 has its own parts: the top looks like a nose bridge, and the bottom 畀 (bì) can remind you of "bee" — picture a bee buzzing in your nose, making you blow it out with your hand.

Be careful to write the left radical 扌 with a vertical stroke and a short hook, not too wide. The right side 鼻 has many strokes — write the top shorter than the bottom 畀, which itself has a horizontal stroke from left to right; the final two strokes are a short left-falling and a right-falling stroke, not a single stroke.

擤 specifically means blowing the nose (using your hand), while 撅 (juē) means to pout or stick out (like the mouth or a tail), and 撑 (chēng) means to prop up or support. Visually, 擤 contains the nose component 鼻, 撅 has 厥 on the right, and 撑 has 掌 — so the right-side parts are completely different.

擤 is used in daily conversation when talking about blowing your nose, especially in common phrases like 擤鼻涕 (xǐng bí tì). It is a casual, practical action word, and you can politely say 擤一下 (xǐng yī xià, "give your nose a blow") if someone has a runny nose.

Common words containing 擤 include: 擤鼻涕 (xǐng bí tì) — To blow one's nose; 擤鼻子 (xǐng bí zi) — To blow one's nose; 擤一下 (xǐng yī xià) — Give (your nose) a blow.