How to Write 颍 (yǐng) — Meaning “Ying (name of a river)”

Imagine a river (three water drops on the left) flowing past a page (页) with a small spoon (匕) on top. The spoon represents the phonetic part 顷, and the whole scene reminds you of the Ying River.

Pay attention to the right side: it is not just 页 but includes a small 匕 on top, making the shape 顷. The water radical 氵 has three dots, and the final vertical stroke of 页 should align with the center. A common mistake is to forget the top 匕 and write only 页.

颍 has the water radical 氵 on the left, while 顼 has 工 (work) on the left and means "anxious," and 顽 has 元 (yuan) on the left and means "stubborn." Visually, 颍 contains three dots, 顼 has a T-like shape, and 顽 has a two-stroke top. They are used in completely different contexts.

颍 appears almost exclusively in proper nouns, especially the Ying River (颍河) and places like Yingshang County (颍上) in Anhui. It also appears in historical references such as Yingchuan (颍川), an ancient prefecture famous for producing many scholars and officials. You will not encounter it in everyday conversation.

Common words containing 颍 include: 颍河 (yǐng hé) — Ying River; 颍上 (yǐng shàng) — Yingshang (a county in Anhui); 颍川 (yǐng chuān) — Yingchuan (an ancient prefecture).