How to Write 馐 (xiū) — Meaning “delicacy”

Imagine a shy (羞) person offering you a plate of delicious food (饣) — the shyness makes the food a "delicacy" given with care. The sound "xiū" also sounds like "show," as in showing off a rare treat.

The left side 饣 has three strokes: a hook, a horizontal, and a vertical. The right side 羞 has nine strokes, with a 丷 (two dots) on top, then a ㇏ (na) through the middle. A common mistake is to write the right side too wide — keep it balanced so the character is not too squat.

飨 (xiǎng) means "to entertain guests with food" or "banquet," while 餍 (yàn) means "to be satisfied with food" or "full." 馐 specifically means "delicacy" as a noun for choice food. Visually, 飨 has a 乡 component on the right, 餍 has a 厌 bottom, and 馐 has a 羞 on the right.

馐 is mostly found in formal or literary expressions like 珍馐 (zhēn xiū, delicacies) or the four-character idiom 珍馐美馔 (zhēn xiū měi zhuàn), describing a luxurious feast. It is rarely used in daily conversation, but appears in menus, poetry, or elegant descriptions of fine dining.

Common words containing 馐 include: 珍馐 (zhēn xiū) — Delicacies; choice food; 馐馔 (xiū zhuàn) — fine food and delicacies; 珍馐美馔 (zhēn xiū měi zhuàn) — Sumptuous delicacies; exquisite food.