How to Write 嗅 (xiù) — Meaning “To smell; to sniff”

Imagine a dog using its mouth (口) to sniff something that smells bad (臭, which means stinky). The combination of mouth and stink can remind you that 嗅 means 'to sniff' or 'to smell,' especially a foul odor. This visual trick helps link the components to the meaning.

Write 口 first as a small square on the left, then the right side 臭: start with the top part 自 (a horizontal stroke, then left vertical, a small dash, and a long horizontal), followed by the bottom 大 (a horizontal, left stroke, right stroke). A common mistake is making the mouth too large or forgetting the small dash inside 自. Keep the left part narrow and the right part slightly taller.

嗅 (xiù) means 'to smell' and uses the mouth radical plus 臭. 㕡 (hè) is a rare character meaning a deep valley or pit, and has a different right component (噩). 唪 (fěng) means 'to chant' or 'to recite loudly,' with the phonetic 奉 and no relation to smell. Visually, only 嗅 has the 臭 component and is used for smelling, while the others have distinct meanings and pronunciations.

嗅 is commonly used in words like 嗅觉 (sense of smell) and 嗅到 (to detect a scent), often in scientific or descriptive contexts. It is less common in daily conversation compared to 闻 (wén), but appears in formal writing or when emphasizing a keen sense of smell. For example, animals are said to have a sharp 嗅觉 in nature documentaries.

Common words containing 嗅 include: 嗅觉 (xiù jué) — Sense of smell; 嗅到 (xiù dào) — To smell; to detect a scent; 嗅一嗅 (xiù yī xiù) — To take a sniff.