How to Write 咻 (xiū) — Meaning “whiz”

Imagine someone sneezing quickly and making a "shoo!" sound — that "shoo" sounds like "xiū" and matches the whizzing meaning. Picture a mouth (口) making that sharp "shoo" noise right next to a person who is resting (休), as if the sound startles them awake.

Write the mouth radical (口) first on the left, then the right part 休: write 亻 (person radical) with a left-falling stroke and a vertical stroke, then 木 (tree) with horizontal, vertical, left-falling, and right-falling strokes. A common mistake is making the 口 too large or misaligning the left and right parts — keep the mouth narrow and at the same height as the 休 component.

君 (jūn, meaning "ruler" or "lord") has 口 under a different top part (尹) and is not related to sounds. 吝 (lìn, meaning "stingy") has 口 under 文 (wén) and means reluctant to spend. Visually, 咻 has 休 (rest) on the right, while 君 has 尹 on top and 吝 has 文 on top. Practically, 咻 is an onomatopoeia; 君 and 吝 are abstract concepts.

咻 is mainly used in written descriptions of fast movement sounds, like "咻的一声" (with a whiz) for arrows, bullets, or speeding cars. It appears in comics, action descriptions, and sound effects. Culturally, it is a vivid onomatopoeia often found in wuxia (martial arts) stories to emphasize swift, dramatic action.

Common words containing 咻 include: 咻咻 (xiū xiū) — whizzing; 咻的一声 (xiū de yī shēng) — with a whiz; 咻咻声 (xiū xiū shēng) — whizzing sound.