How to Write 愉 (yú) — Meaning “pleasant”

Picture your heart (忄) feeling a smooth "yú" flow because everything is going well, like a peaceful boat moving through water. The right part 俞 resembles a person (人) riding a moon (月) with a knife (刂) cutting away troubles, leaving only happiness.

Write the heart radical 忄 first: two dots then a vertical line, making sure the vertical is straight and not too short. Then the right part 俞: start with the person component (人), then the moon shape (月), and finally the knife radical (刂) on the bottom right; a common mistake is making the right side too wide or forgetting the last vertical stroke.

愉 (yú) means pleasant, with the right part 俞; 悃 (kǔn) means sincere or earnest, with the right part 困 (trapped) — notice the different structures inside the outer box. 悄 (qiǎo) means quiet or sad, with the right part 肖, so 愉 is the only one associated with joy and a smooth feeling.

愉 is most often found in common words like 愉快 (yú kuài, happy) and 愉悦 (yú yuè, joyful), used in both written and spoken Chinese. You might hear 祝你愉快 (zhù nǐ yú kuài) meaning "wish you happiness" in polite greetings or see it in phrases like 心情愉悦 (xīn qíng yú yuè) for a cheerful mood.

Common words containing 愉 include: 愉快 (yú kuài) — happy; 愉悦 (yú yuè) — joyful; 欢愉 (huān yú) — Happy and joyful.