How to Write 魆 (xū) — Meaning “Dark”

Imagine a ghost (鬼) standing in a pitch-dark room, and the right part 戌 looks like a dog barking in the darkness. This connects the ghost and the dark meaning with the sudden appearance often seen in words like 黑魆魆 (pitch-dark). You can also think of the sound ‘xū’ as a whisper in the dark.

The radical 鬼 is written first with 9 strokes, ending with a vertical hook that extends to the right. The right part 戌 has a diagonal hook (斜钩) that should curve smoothly, not be too straight. A common mistake is making the 鬼 radical too wide, so keep both halves balanced and roughly equal in width.

Visually, the right side differs: 魆 has 戌 (dog/earthly branch), 魁 has 斗 (fight), and 魂 has 云 (cloud). In meaning, 魆 means 'dark' or is used for suddenness, while 魁 means 'leader' (e.g., 魁梧) and 魂 means 'soul' (e.g., 灵魂). The radical 鬼 is shared, so focus on the right component to tell them apart.

魆 is very rare in modern daily speech and is not in the HSK vocabulary. It appears in literary or classical contexts, especially in the word 黑魆魆 to describe a pitch-dark scene, or in 魆地 meaning 'suddenly'. You might encounter it in ghost stories or poetry to create a dark, mysterious atmosphere.

Common words containing 魆 include: 黑魆魆 (hēi xū xū) — Pitch-dark; 魆地 (xū dì) — Suddenly; 魆风 (xū fēng) — Sudden wind.