How to Write 戌 (xū) — Meaning “the eleventh of the twelve Earthly Branches”

Imagine a dog (the Year of the Dog) holding a spear (戈) at 7–9 PM (戌时) to guard your house. The horizontal line in the middle looks like a leash tying the dog to the spear. This connects the character to its zodiac animal and time period.

Write it in 6 strokes: first a horizontal line (一), then a left-falling stroke (丿), then a horizontal (一), a vertical (丨), a slanted hook (斜钩), and finally a dot (丶). A common mistake is confusing the inner horizontal stroke with the shorter wedge in 戊 (wù) – in 戌, that stroke is straight and horizontal. Also ensure the dot is placed inside the hook area, not outside.

戈 (gē, spear) is just the radical with no extra strokes, while 戌 adds a horizontal stroke inside the spear shape. 戉 (yuè) has a longer horizontal stroke that crosses through the spear, making it look like a large axe, whereas 戌's horizontal only sits inside. Visually, 戌's hook is also more curved than 戉's.

戌 appears mainly in traditional timekeeping: 戌时 (xū shí) means the period from 7 PM to 9 PM, and 戌年 (xū nián) is the Year of the Dog in the Chinese zodiac. It also occurs in historical names like 戊戌变法 (Wùxū Reforms of 1898). Outside of these contexts, 戌 is rarely used in daily life.

Common words containing 戌 include: 戌时 (xū shí) — 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.; 戌年 (xū nián) — Year of the Dog; 戊戌 (wù xū) — Wuxu (35th year of the 60-year cycle).