How to Write 吁 (xū/yù) — Meaning “to sigh; to appeal”

Picture a mouth (口) sighing and making an "xū" sound, like a long exhale. The right side 于 looks like a curved line going upward, representing the breath rising as you sigh or make an appeal.

Write the left radical 口 first (vertical, horizontal, bottom horizontal), then the right part 于 (horizontal, horizontal, vertical hook). A common mistake is making the right side too wide; keep it narrow so the character stays balanced and compact.

吁 has the mouth radical with 于 on the right, and means "to sigh" or "to appeal." 卟 (bǔ) uses 卜 on the right and appears in chemical terms. 古 (gǔ) has 十 on the right and means "ancient." The right-side components are completely different in both meaning and writing.

吁 appears in common words like 呼吁 (hū yù, "to appeal") for public or official calls, and 气喘吁吁 (qì chuǎn xū xū, "panting") for heavy breathing. It is not used alone in daily speech but is important in these descriptive and formal phrases.

Common words containing 吁 include: 呼吁 (hū yù) — to appeal / to call for; 吁请 (yù qǐng) — To appeal; to petition.; 气喘吁吁 (qì chuǎn xū xū) — Panting / Out of breath.