How to Write 茔 (yíng) — Meaning “grave”

Imagine a grassy hill (艹) with a small tomb entrance (冖) going down into the earth (土). You can think of the sound 'ying' like 'ying' in 'burying' — the grass covers the buried spot. This visual helps you remember both the shape and the meaning.

Write the top grass radical (艹) first with three strokes: horizontal, then two verticals. Next write the cover (冖) as a dot followed by a horizontal hook, making it narrow and centered. Finally add the earth (土) with a horizontal, vertical, and horizontal — ensure the bottom horizontal is slightly longer to support the character.

茔 has earth (土) under a cover (冖), while 兹 has 'now' (玄) instead, and 艻 has strength (力) at the bottom. Visually, 茔 looks like a covered ground, whereas 兹 is more abstract and 艻 is rare meaning 'a kind of grass'. Their pronunciations and uses are completely different.

茔 is a literary character found in formal words like 坟茔 (grave), 茔地 (graveyard), and 祖茔 (ancestral graveyard). You might see it on tombstones or in historical texts, but it is rarely used in everyday conversation. Culturally, 祖茔 reflects the Chinese tradition of honoring family ancestors at their burial sites.

Common words containing 茔 include: 坟茔 (fén yíng) — burial ground / grave; 茔地 (yíng dì) — graveyard; 祖茔 (zǔ yíng) — ancestral graveyard.