How to Write 雝 (yōng) — Meaning “Harmonious; marsh bird”

Imagine a bird (隹) sitting by a peaceful canal (邕) and singing a harmonious tune. The sound "yōng" can remind you of the word "yong" as in "yong he" (harmony), linking the peaceful scene to the character's meaning.

Start with the left part 邕: write the three strokes of 巛 (zigzag top) first, then the bottom 邑 (city radical) with a box and a seal-like base. Then add the right part 隹 (bird) with a short top stroke, a long horizontal, and four vertical strokes. A common mistake is making the left side too wide or confusing the bottom of 邕 with the left side of 隹.

雝 (yōng) has a left side 邕 and right side 隹, meaning harmonious or a marsh bird. 雔 (chóu) has two 隹 side by side, meaning a pair or mate. 雕 (diāo) has left side 周 (zhou) and right side 隹, meaning an eagle or to carve. The visual difference is clear: 雝 has a unique left component, while 雔 has double birds and 雕 has 周.

雝 is very rare in modern Chinese and mainly appears in classical poetry, such as the Book of Songs (诗经) line "雝雝鸣雁" describing harmonious goose calls. It is also used in historical canal names like 雝渠 (Yong Canal). Learning it helps understand ancient Chinese culture and poetic imagery.

Common words containing 雝 include: 雝雝 (yōng yōng) — Harmonious (describing bird calls); 雝渠 (yōng qú) — Yong Canal; 雝和 (yōng hé) — Harmonious and peaceful.