How to Write 谀 (yú) — Meaning “To flatter; to fawn”

Imagine someone saying "You" (sounds like 臾 yú) over and over with sweet talk, represented by the speech radical 讠. The phrase "I flatter you" sounds like "yú" — so 谀 is speech about "you" to butter you up.

Write the radical 讠 (two strokes: a dot and a horizontal-turning stroke) first, then the right side 臾. The right side has 8 strokes: note the top 臼-like shape (two short dashes and a left-falling stroke) and the bottom 人 (which should not be written as a full 入 but as two separate strokes). A common mistake is making the bottom 人 too wide; keep it narrow and balanced.

谀 means "to flatter," while 诓 (kuāng) means "to deceive" or "to coax," and 诔 (lěi) means "to eulogize the dead" — used in funeral writings. Visually, 谀 has the right side 臾, 诓 has 匡 (a box shape), and 诔 has 耒 (a plow shape). So they differ in both meaning and component.

谀 appears mostly in formal or literary contexts, often in the compound 阿谀 (ē yú, "flattery") to describe insincere praise, especially toward superiors. It has a negative connotation, as in the idiom 阿谀奉承 (ē yú fèng chéng, "to flatter and fawn"). You won't use it in daily conversation, but it's useful for reading classic texts or attacking political sycophants.

Common words containing 谀 include: 谄谀 (chǎn yú) — To flatter and adulate; 阿谀 (ē yú) — flattery; 谀辞 (yú cí) — Flattering words; adulation.