How to Write 夭 (yāo) — Meaning “To die young / Tender”

Imagine a large person (大) stumbling and falling down — the tilted top stroke represents them losing balance. This visual of someone young falling over can remind you that 夭 means to die young or end prematurely.

Write 夭 in 4 strokes: first a left-falling stroke (丿) from top, then a horizontal stroke, followed by a left-falling stroke, and finally a right-falling stroke (捺). The key is that the first stroke angles left and the top is not completely flat — avoid making it look like 大 with a straight top.

夭 differs from 大 (big) by having a bent top stroke instead of a straight horizontal line. Compared to 买 (to buy), which has a plus-like top and a dot below, 夭 has no dot and a more open shape. Visually, 夭 looks like a tilted version of 大, while 买 has extra strokes.

夭 commonly appears in words like 夭折 (yāo zhé), meaning to die young or to end prematurely, and 夭夭 (yāo yāo) in classical poetry to describe lush plants or tender beauty. It is not in HSK and is mostly used in literary or historical contexts, so you may encounter it in older texts or idioms.

Common words containing 夭 include: 夭折 (yāo zhé) — To die young / To end prematurely; 夭夭 (yāo yāo) — Lush and bright / Tender and beautiful; 夭矫 (yāo jiǎo) — Vigorous and powerful.