How to Write 顼 (xū) — Meaning “Anxious / Grieved”

Imagine a king (王) with a worried head (页) because his jade crown is missing — the anxiety shows on his face. This links the components to the meaning 'anxious' or 'grieved'. Another trick: think of 'Xū' sounding like 'sigh', which you do when anxious.

The left part is 王 (king) with four strokes: horizontal, horizontal, vertical, horizontal — do NOT add a dot like in the jade character 玉. The right part 页 is six strokes: start with horizontal, then left-falling, vertical, horizontal fold, left-falling, and finally a dot. Keep both sides balanced, with the left slightly narrower.

The main difference is the left component: 顼 has 王 (king), 顶 has 丁 (nail), and 顷 has 匕 (spoon). In meaning, 顶 means 'top' or 'peak', 顷 means 'a moment' or 'a unit of land', while 顼 is a rare character used mostly in names. Visually, look at the three strokes on the left: 王 has three horizontal lines, 丁 has just one, and 匕 resembles a spoon shape.

Today 顼 is almost never used in everyday conversation; it appears mainly in the name 颛顼 (Zhuān Xū), a legendary ancient emperor in Chinese mythology. It also exists as a rare surname 姓顼. Because of this historical connection, you will most often encounter it in texts about early Chinese history or mythology.

Common words containing 顼 include: 颛顼 (zhuān xū) — Zhuanxu (a legendary ancient emperor); 顼顼 (xū xū) — Anxious / Worried; 姓顼 (xìng xū) — Surname Xu.