How to Write 獯 (xūn) — Meaning “Xun (referring to ancient ethnic groups)”

Imagine a wild dog (犭) sniffing smoke (熏) rising from a campfire in the steppes — that is how you spot the Xun tribe. The smoke helps you remember the sound 'xūn' and the dog reminds you of their animal-like, nomadic nature.

Pay attention to the right side 熏, which has 14 strokes — it is easy to add or miss a stroke. Write the 犭 radical first, making it narrow; then the 熏 part should be wider and balanced. Common mistakes include misplacing the four dots (灬) at the bottom of 熏 or writing the 田 part too small.

獯 refers specifically to historical northern tribes like 獯鬻, while 獗 means 'mad' or 'frenzied' (as in 猖獗), and 獠 means 'fangs' or 'savage'. Visually, 獯 has 熏 on the right, 獗 has 厥, and 獠 has 尞. Their usage and pronunciation are all distinct.

獯 is almost never used in everyday modern Chinese — it appears only in historical texts about ancient ethnic groups, such as the 獯鬻 tribe. You might encounter it in books about early Chinese history or archaeology, but not in common vocabulary or HSK lists.

Common words containing 獯 include: 獯鬻 (xūn yù) — Xunyu (an ancient nomadic tribe); 獯猃 (xūn xiǎn) — Xunxian (an ancient nomadic tribe); 獯虏 (xūn lǔ) — Xunlu (an ancient term for northern nomadic tribes).