How to Write 癣 (xuǎn) — Meaning “ringworm; fungal skin infection”

Imagine a "fresh" (鲜) patch of red, itchy skin caused by a fungal infection, with the sickness radical 疒 on the left. You can think: "A fresh skin disease (疒 + 鲜) is ringworm." This links the look of the infection to the character's components.

First write the left radical 疒: dot, horizontal, left-falling, vertical, then two dots (or a dot and a short horizontal). Then write the right part 鲜 (14 strokes) starting with 鱼 (fish) and then 羊 (sheep). A common mistake is making the right side too tall or not aligning its bottom stroke with the left radical.

All three share the sickness radical 疒, but their right parts differ. 癌 (ái) has 喦 on the right and means cancer, a malignant tumor. 癍 (bān) has 班 on the right and means a scar or spot on the skin. 癣 (xuǎn) has 鲜 on the right and specifically means ringworm or fungal skin infection.

癣 appears in medical terms for fungal skin infections, such as 足癣 (athlete's foot) and 癣药 (ringworm medicine). A common cultural term is 牛皮癣 (cow skin ringworm), which actually refers to psoriasis, not a fungal infection, but is widely used in everyday language for this chronic skin condition.

Common words containing 癣 include: 足癣 (zú xuǎn) — athlete's foot; tinea pedis; 癣药 (xuǎn yào) — medicine for ringworm; 牛皮癣 (niú pí xuǎn) — psoriasis.