How to Write 予 (yǔ) — Meaning “to give, grant, or bestow”

Picture a person standing under a roof (亠) and holding out a hooked arm (乙) to hand a gift to someone. The hook shape represents the action of giving or granting something. Imagine the dot on top as the person's head, and the horizontal line as their shoulders.

The stroke order is dot (1), then horizontal (2), then a long horizontal hook stroke that curves downward (3), and finally a vertical hook stroke (4). A common mistake is to make the third stroke too straight or to forget the final hook on the fourth stroke. Keep the bottom part balanced and slightly open.

予 has a dot and horizontal line (亠) on top, while 乜 is just the hook shape without any top part. 㐌 looks similar but has the component 也 below the 亠, not a hook. So 予 is unique because its bottom is the simple hook 乙.

予 is used in formal or literary expressions such as 给予 (to give), 授予 (to award), and 予以 (to provide). It is more classical and formal than the everyday word 给. You will often see it in official documents, certificates, or news reports about conferring honors.

Common words containing 予 include: 给予 (jǐ yǔ) — To give or bestow.; 授予 (shòu yǔ) — to award; to confer; 予以 (yǔ yǐ) — to give, grant, or provide.