How to Write 欤 (yú) — Meaning “A sentence-final particle (literary)”

Imagine saying “yú” like a literary sigh – think of “yú” as a classical “uh” or “alas.” Visually, 与 looks like a hand giving something, and 欠 is a person yawning – so picture someone giving a yawn of wonder, which matches the particle’s exclamatory tone.

The left part 与 is written with 4 strokes: horizontal, then vertical, then two short horizontals. The right part 欠 has 4 strokes: a left-falling stroke, a horizontal hook, another left-falling, and a final downward-right stroke. A common mistake is making the left side too narrow; keep it balanced with the right side.

虽然欤 contains 欠, 次 (cì) uses the radical 冫 (ice) instead, so it means “order” or “next”. 欢 (huān) replaces 欠 with 又 on the right and means “happy”. Unlike these, 欤 is only used as a literary particle at the end of sentences, not as a content word.

欤 is rarely used in everyday speech; it appears in classical or very formal literary writing, often at the end of rhetorical questions or exclamations – for example, 否欤 means “Is it so or not?”. Modern Chinese readers recognize it as an elegant, old-fashioned particle similar to 吗 or 啊 but with a distinct classical flavor.

Common words containing 欤 include: 欤 (yú) — A sentence-final particle (literary); 叹欤 (tàn yú) — to sigh (literary); 否欤 (fǒu yú) — Is it so or not?.