How to Write 萸 (yú) — Meaning “cornel; dogwood”

Picture a dogwood tree (萸) growing from a grassy hill (艹), and the berries look like tiny yellow "yu" yo-yos. The sound "yú" matches the word for 'excess' (余), so you can think of the tree producing excess fruit.

The top part 艹 must be written as two strokes (horizontal with vertical downstrokes) — don't connect them as a solid line. The bottom part 臾 has a person-like shape (人) inside a box; be careful to place the vertical stroke of 人 exactly through the center.

萸 (yú) has a bottom component 臾 (a person in a box), while 兹 (zī) has two 玄 (dark thread) stacked, and 苧 (zhù) has a 丁 (nail) underneath. 萸 means dogwood, 苧 refers to ramie fiber, and 兹 means 'this' or 'now'.

萸 is almost always seen in the double-character word 茱萸 (zhū yú), which refers to the cornelian cherry plant. It appears in traditional culture, especially during the Double Ninth Festival (Chongyang) when people wear 茱萸 to ward off evil and pray for health.

Common words containing 萸 include: 茱萸 (zhū yú) — cornelian cherry; 茱萸肉 (zhū yú ròu) — cornelian cherry pulp; 茱萸酒 (zhū yú jiǔ) — dogwood wine.