How to Write 尤 (yóu) — Meaning “Especially; particularly; fault”

Imagine a person with a bent leg (尢) who is 'especially' good at dancing—but the extra stroke is like a little dot marking their one fault. This visual trick pairs the unusual shape with the dual meaning of 'especially' and 'fault.' Think of the dot as a special mark that makes the character unique, just like the word 'you' in English sounds like yóu.

The stroke order is: left-falling stroke, horizontal, vertical hook, then dot. The vertical hook must curve slightly left, not be straight, and the dot sits inside the hook area, not below it. A common mistake is placing the dot too low or forgetting the hook curve, making it look like the similar character 尢.

The key visual difference is that 尤 has a dot inside the hook, while 尢 (pronounced wāng) has no dot and means 'lame' or 'weak.' 尣 is a rare variant of 尢 with the same meaning. In modern usage, 尤 is common for 'especially' and as a surname, while 尢 and 尣 are almost never used in daily Chinese.

尤 appears most often in the words 尤其 (yóu qí, 'especially') and 尤为 (yóu wèi, 'particularly'), which are used to emphasize something. It is also a common Chinese surname. In classical or formal writing, you might see it in idioms like 无耻之尤 ('the height of shamelessness'), but learners only need to know the everyday uses.

Common words containing 尤 include: 尤其 (yóu qí) — Especially; particularly; 尤为 (yóu wèi) — Especially; particularly; 姓尤 (xìng yóu) — Surname You.